Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad member tests positive for coronavirus

A Princeton First Aid Squad member has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Thursday night.

The PFARS member, who is a per-diem member, began displaying symptoms of the coronavirus on Thursday, March 26, and immediately took steps to self-isolate, officials said. The member is currently not hospitalized and the COVID-19 symptoms have subsided, officials said.

Officials reported that the member had contact with the public one time during the period the member was contagious. Officials said the instance posed “little to no threat of exposure” because the squad member was wearing protective equipment.

All PFARS members who had direct contact with the member have been notified by PFARS leadership or the Princeton Health Department, officials said. The Princeton First Aid Squad has been employing a “continuity of operations plan” over the last several weeks that has isolated exposure to a small group of members in order to mitigate the risk of exposure to the department as a whole, officials said. The small group of members in contact with the COVID-19 positive member is being quarantined.

After being notified that the member was not feeling well, PFARS officials took steps to disinfect the PFARS building and ambulances, which are decontaminated after every use, officials said.