WMFR is cooling to new COVID numbers.
West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners shuffled responsibilities for the new year at their Nov. 16 meeting at the district administration facility.
Commissioners voted 3-0 to retain Larry Jennis as chair; transition Robert Bennett from secretary-treasurer to vice-chair and appoint Al Robinson to secretary-treasurer.
Board officers will assume their new positions in January and serve for the year.
Deputy Chief Jay Johnson gave a COVID-19 status report that included state and local pandemic metrics and how the department has changed its safety protocols per the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
About 64% of county residents are vaccinated and community transmission levels stood at 2.5% the week beginning Nov. 14, Johnson said.
“Last month, I told you we were trending down; and I was hoping to see us come from a substantial (transmission rate) to a moderate (rate); and we have, so that’s great news,” he said.
In areas with moderate rates of transmission, the CDC does not recommend indoor masking for vaccinated people and the department has adjusted its internal safety directives accordingly, he said.
Since the pandemic’s beginning, WMFR has followed CDC guidelines and worked with local public safety agencies on COVID-19 policies, Johnson told The Islander Nov. 16.
“We operate in the public safety sector, so our main concern is not just keeping internal people safe, but also the community that we are tasked with serving,” Johnson said.
Though WMFR leadership no longer recommends vaccinated personnel wear masks around one another, all staff wear N95 masks on emergency calls.
Chief Ben Rigney said he hopes some of the camaraderie lost at the height of the pandemic due to department restrictions on staff interaction will return as the agency eases its policies.
“There was a large mental and emotional drain on our personnel because they weren’t able to have that interaction,” Johnson said. “So the chief recognized this and said maybe we can start cutting back some of these restrictions in the safest way possible.”
Johnson said WMFR leadership is highly encouraging its staff — and the public — to receive vaccinations.
The next WMFR board meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, at the WMFR administration building, 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton.
For more on WMFR, visit wmfr.org.