Florida teacher on front lines of coronavirus fight
Sgt. Frederick Harmon, Florida National Guard and teacher, joins ‘Fox and Friends.’
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A fifth-grade teacher in Florida described Sunday on “Fox & Friends Weekend” what it’s been like to switch gears from the classroom to the front lines as he serves with the Florida National Guard during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Day-to-day life is just kind of like teaching, a little routine will get you through the day,” Sgt. Frederick Harmon said. “We’re being pretty vigilant about our health and we’re doing temperature checks twice daily.”
Harmon, a husband and the father of a toddler, added that he also followed a daily workout routine.
“We go for a run and we work out in our rooms, go to work and just like everybody else, we try to social distance,” he explained. “We spend a lot of time by ourselves.”
Harmon was deployed to West Palm Beach last month to monitor travelers coming to Florida from coronavirus hot spots.
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“I was walking into my classroom because we had just gotten the call that we were going to be going into virtual teaching, and I went into my classroom to collect the materials that we were going to need in order to finish that or to complete that mission. And, I got a text saying that we were being activated, so I kind of just automatically jumped right into Sergeant Harmon mode and have been here ever since,” Harmon explained.
He said he has been assigned to Palm Beach International Airport.
“We’re in charge of keeping track of people coming in from hot spots like New York and New Jersey, Connecticut, and we’re more or less tracking where they’re going to be staying at in the state of Florida, so that in case somebody on their flight is diagnosed with COVID-19, we’re able to contact them, let them know that they have a potential risk of exposure,” Harmon said.
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He acknowledged that his current deployment was “a lot different than being overseas” and said being deployed on U.S. soil was like “you’re among friends and family.”
Harmon said a lot of people “are very grateful for what we’re doing,” adding, “we’re grateful for their support.”
When asked about his message to his fellow Americans, he said, “I just want them to know that we’re here to help.”
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“We want people to know that there will be an end to this eventually,” he continued.
“I also want people to maintain a positive outlook and do their best to reach out and support their neighbors. We are a community and we want to stick together and help each other out.”
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