On Tuesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released the assignments for nearly 200 National Guard troops to assist healthcare providers during the on-going increase in new COVID-19 cases. On that list are troops heading to University Health Care System and the East Central Georgia District of Health.
The governor took to Twitter and released the locations where troops would be sent to assist in high-need areas, such as testing locations and hospitals.
Ninety-six are being assigned to support 16 testing sites across seven of the Georgia Department of Health’s regional health districts, including the East Central Georgia District in Richmond County. Among the other districts where Guardsmen will be deployed are four in metro Atlanta.
Another 102 troops will deploy to help at 11 hospital facilities, including University Health Care in Augusta. Also receiving help will be Phoebe Putney in Albany which was one of the hardest hit areas during the early months of the first COVID-19 surge.
The governor’s decision to deploy up to 2,500 National Guard troops followed conversations he had on Dec. 29 with hospital leadership across the state.
He also announced $100 million towards increasing health care staff across the state. That is expected to put at least 1,000 additional health care staff on the job. Those assignments have not yet been announced.
On Jan. 4, the state health department announced 55,973 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,475,883.
The governor’s office has not yet released exactly how many troops will be assigned to each location.
