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Over 1,300 FDNY members back at work after coronavirus-related absences

Posted at 9:07 PM, Apr 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-07 23:07:39-04

Over 1,300 members of the FDNY are back at work after being out due to coronavirus -related absences, the department said Tuesday.

According to tweets from the FDNY , 1,310 EMTs, paramedics and firefighters have returned to full duty.

Those returning to action either tested positive for the novel coronavirus, were exposed or were suspected of having COVID-19, the FDNY said.

"FDNY members are responding to a record number of medical calls, and they continue to meet this unprecedented challenge head on," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement.

"I am incredibly proud of the men and women of this department who are demonstrating every single day throughout this pandemic why they are known as the best and the bravest," the FDNY commissioner said.

New York has become the epicenter of the country's coronavirus crisis. As of Tuesday, there are over 138,836 cases statewide, with TK in New York City alone.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that New York saw a jump of over 700 new COVID-19 deaths overnight, bringing the state's death toll to a sobering 5,489.

This article was written by Mark Sundstrom for WPIX.