CA Firefighter Leaves Hospital after Month Battling COVID-19

June 28, 2020
Capt. Joseph Aldecoa was among seven Anaheim firefighters who tested positive for the deadly virus earlier this month and had been in intensive care for a week because of complications.

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A California firefighter who was placed in intensive care because of COVID-19 was released from the hospital Saturday after about a month battling the virus.

Capt. Joseph Aldecoa was among seven Anaheim firefighters who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, KABC-TV reports. Complications from the virus kept him in a hospital intensive care unit for a week.

“He keeps saying it over and over again to take it seriously," Aldecoa’s niece told KABC. "He took it seriously and took the precautions and still got it, so … you just don’t know how it would affect you."

A 19-year department veteran, Aldecoa had been one of two Anaheim firefighters sent to the ICU because of COVID-19. Capt. David Baker, who was featured with Mickey Mouse in an iconic Disney illustration as a rookie firefighter, is still in the hospital.