Coronavirus has now infected at least nine OCFA firefighters

At least nine Orange County Fire Authority firefighters had contracted the novel coronavirus as of Tuesday, April 7.

So far, four of those patients have recovered, Orange County Fire Authority spokeswoman Colleen Windsor said.

Many of those cases were reported early during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Orange County, OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy said in a statement posted to social media on Tuesday.

“That was early on, several weeks ago, and many of them have already returned to work,” Fennessy said. “I am also pleased to say that the guidance we are getting … is that social distancing is working.”

He went on to encourage residents to stay vigilant in following recommendations from health officials. Fennesy urged people to wear face coverings in public, avoid unnecessary outings, maintain a distance of six feet from others if possible and exercise proper hygiene regardless of whether they exhibit symptoms or risk factors for COVID-19.

“Treating everybody, and yourself, like you’ve been infected, it’s worked.”

The first case of coronavirus among OCFA staff was publicly confirmed on March 20. Another three fire personnel tested positive for the virus two days later.

At least 931 people in Orange County have contracted COVID-19. The disease had killed 15 people in the county as of Tuesday.

City News Service contributed to this story.