As if the empty streets in the nation’s Capitol weren’t surreal enough, an ambulance driver decided to augment the atmosphere by blaring sirens from the dark-future film “The Purge” while roaming down 14th Street last week.

The District has shut down all “non-essential” businesses and asked to remain at home as much as possible as it tries to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

RELATED: Metro further reduces service hours amid coronavirus pandemic

The American Medical Response ambulance was recorded and posted on Twitter last week.

AMR – which contracts with the District – confirmed the siren, and noted that it doesn’t approve of the siren’s use.

The company apologized and said those responsible for the siren had tendered their resignations.


As of Monday, D.C. had more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases – and that number is expected to spike dramatically over the next few weeks.

RELATED: DC, Maryland and Virginia coronavirus deaths top 100 with over 7,000 cases reported