COVID-19 - Hillsborough Fire Rescue Department

In early January of 2020, the world became aware of a new coronavirus, now named COVID-19, rapidly spreading throughout Wuhan China. As the events of this deadly virus in China played out on the evening news, conversations started about the impending Chinese New Year. As a tradition, China shuts down all nonessential work for several weeks to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which gives families in China time to vacation around the world. The combination of COVID-19 and the Chinese New Year helped quickly spread the virus around the world to create a deadly pandemic. Europe was first to feel the fatal effects of COVID-19, then by late February, the virus had entered the United States. The fatal consequences of COVID-19 caught all nations off guard and quickly overwhelmed the medical system. While Hillsborough County Fire Rescue trains daily for both known and unknown emergency, is Hillsborough County Emergency Management team prepared for a pandemic as deadly as COVID-19?