President Donald Trump is deploying more than 200 military troops to New York. Medical personnel from the 531st Hospital Center at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, will arrive in the city Thursday to assist with containing the spread of coronavirus and assisting medical facilities.
As of Thursday morning, New York City said it had 20,011 known cases, leading to 280 deaths. One New York City hospital in the center of the state’s coronavirus outbreak, Elmhurst Hospital, had at least 13 patients die in the span of 24 hours.
New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the city’s density and it being an international destination made a hotbed for the outbreak. He said the state will need 140,000 hospital beds, almost three times the existing capacity, and before the number of cases hits its apex in two to three weeks.
The military in New York is just one example of how it is working with interagency partners – including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense Military Health System and others – to support and protect the military force and the American people, according to a news release.
As for soldiers and family members still at Fort Campbell, medical personnel will work closely with network partners to make sure patients receive needed care and reschedule appointments as needed. Anyone who has an upcoming medical appointment should call their primary care manager to confirm the date and time.
For information about what you can do to protect yourself visit the CDC.
–Wire services
