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Nearly two dozen Dallas firefighters were quarantined stemming from COVID-19, according to the city's fire union.
As of Monday, 21 firefighters had been diagnosed with the virus, the Dallas firefighters union told WFAA-TV. Ten other union members also needed to isolate because of recent exposure to an individual with a positive test.
The positive cases come on the heels of Gov. Greg Abbot's executive prohibiting communities from mandating masks. For Dallas Fire Rescue, the order prevents the department from forcing firefighters—no matter their vaccination status—to wear masks, but it does create a murky legal area for officials to navigate.
"There are legal questions regarding how the governor's orders will affect us since the city cannot mandate that we wear masks or order protocols with masks involved," Jim McDade, head of the city's firefighters union, told WFAA. "There could be some unintended consequences with staffing with his executive action."
The combination of the order and the recent quarantines also has raised concerns by McDade and others when it comes to staffing shortages and overworked firefighters.
Department spokesman Jason Evans told WFAA that around 900 department members had said they'd been vaccinated. In June, the department saw only three department members test positive, with two people requiring hosptial stays for the virus. The number of positive tests jumped to 29 in July, and three cases have been so far this month.
These latest COVID developments for the department come after a firefighter was accused of lying about he and his family having the virus and then allegedly spending time off at a Texas resort.
William Carter was arrested Friday and charged with felony theft after collecting more than $12,000 from the city. According to court documents, Carter wrongly told his supervisors he tested positive March 24 and then reported that his daughter tested positive a week later.
