Matt Klapper, a longtime aide to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (D) dating back to Booker’s time as mayor of Newark, has returned to the Garden State to help manage the coronavirus pandemic after Gov. Phil Murphy (D) put out the call.

Klapper, who has also kept his Washington job as Booker's chief of staff, has worked nights as an emergency medical technician in the northern New Jersey town of Springfield since Murphy called for retired and inactive medical professionals to return to the field, The New York Times reported.

The town is located in Union County, which has a higher per capita rate of infection than hot spots like New York City and New Orleans. The need for extra steps such as donning protective gear and disinfecting ambulances has lengthened call times from 45 minutes to hours, and numerous EMS workers have themselves contracted the virus.

“The most impactful thing of having these dual experiences was just seeing the expanse of how this virus is hurting people,” Klapper told the Times. “There are millions of first responders who are going to be answering these calls for months, if not longer. This is something that doesn’t stop at the door of work. It is going to come home.”

“The call volume had spiked so high and the staff is what the staff is; there’s no magic potion that creates more EMS providers for you,” Mike Bascom, the EMS task force leader in New Jersey, added. “Matt felt a sense of duty to come back and help.”

While Klapper has remained a member of Booker’s Senate team, the senator said his aide has occasionally had to prioritize his EMT work.

“You heard about him playing the, ‘Oh Cory, I can’t talk to you right now because I’m saving lives,' ” Booker quipped to the Times. “How many times is he going to use that card on me?”