WORCESTER - An emergency training facility is stressing the importance of CPR and how to do it correctly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Code One Training Center’s Kori Burz says providing some CPR is always better than no CPR. She says even before the pandemic there was a misconception around CPR and giving breath’s, and the fear escalated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in recent years, she says training has stepped away from focusing on mouth mouth breath’s

“Everyone thought giving the breaths is so incredibly important because that is what we see in the movies. Now it turns out when it comes to CPR the chest compressions is the real viral component of resuscitation as well as utilizing an AED. Neither of the two do you put your mouth on someone else’s mouth,” said Burz.

Burz says in an event breaths are needed, they encourage the use of a bag valve mask which self inflates. She says they’ve done virtual training during the pandemic and have taken lots of steps to ensure the training is safe.

“Anything from sanitizing our equipment before and after to social distance, minimizing the number of participants in our classes and we also introduced the modality where we communicate without participants virtually to the extent that’s possible,” said Burz.

Code One Training Center is also promoting outdoor AED access because many places where people would access one are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.