Jeremy Emerich, a critical care EMT on the ground for Lehigh Valley Health Network’s MedEvac, died Thursday following a battle with COVID-19, friends and coworkers said on social media. Emerich was also a U.S. Armed Forces veteran and an active firefighter in Fleetwood, the Berks County community where he lived with his companion, Shana Konek.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: LehighValleyLive.com

For decades, the backbone of the nation’s disaster response system — and a hallmark of American generosity — has been its army of volunteers who race toward danger to help shelter, feed and counsel victims of hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a critical weakness in this system: Most volunteers are older people at higher risk from the virus, so this year they can’t participate in person.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The New York Times

The McKinney Fire Department will be at Belterra Health and Rehab on Friday morning, testing 200 residents and staff members for the novel coronavirus in an effort to curb its spread. This is the first testing related to Governor Greg Abbot’s Strike Force Plan to Open Texas, according to the department.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Dallas Morning News

In new guidance for mathematical modelers and public health officials, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is estimating that about a third of coronavirus infections are asymptomatic. The CDC also says its "best estimate" is that 0.4% of people who show symptoms and have COVID-19 will die, and the agency estimates that 40% of coronavirus transmission is occurring before people feel sick.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

A two-alarm fire broke out at an Olympia motel in the predawn darkness on Friday morning, sending dozens of guests fleeing into the night air. The call to 911 came moments after midnight that the two-story Quality Inn at 1211 Quince Street SE was burning, according to Asst. Chief Mike Buchanan with Olympia Fire.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIMA-TV CBS News Yakima