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Emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians are typically the first health care workers to encounter sudden illnesses and other health emergencies in the community, placing them at risk of communicable and infectious diseases. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies more than 1.2 million community‐based first‐response personnel, including law enforcement, fire, and EMS clinicians, who are at risk for infectious exposure [1].

While infectious and communicable disease preparedness may not have previously been a priority in some EMS agencies, the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks made it one. During the SARS outbreaks in Toronto and Taipei, EMS personnel were exposed to and contracted SARS in significant numbers, resulting in one paramedic fatality. The loss of paramedics available for work due to exposure, quarantine, and illness affected the ability to maintain staffing during the outbreak and highlighted the need for EMS systems to adequately prepare and protect the workforce from potential exposures [2–4].

The 2020 global pandemic due to the novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS‐CoV2 or 2019‐nCoV) highlighted the need for robust EMS infection prevention and control practices to protect personnel and maintain system integrity. Efforts must be multifaceted to account for potential exposures in the workplace from patients, co‐workers, and the public. Additionally, contingency planning must account for the possibility of temporary losses of significant portions of the workforce at times when demands on the EMS system are increased.