National Guard personnel arrive in Tri-Cities support COVID-19 surge | WJHL
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Twenty members from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force National Guard arrived to help support hospitals in the area according to a recent Facebook post from Ballad Health. They were sent due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
The healthcare system says there are 237 COVID-19 positive patients in hospitals around the region including six children, four of which are in the pediatric intensive care unit. The post goes on to say that is the highest number of pediatric inpatients they with COVID-19 they have ever had.
Ballad also encourages people to get vaccinated saying that it is the single most important thing you can do.
See their social media post below:
According to a release from the Tennessee National Guard, Guardsmen have been working alongside the Tennessee Department of health to provide services such as testing, vaccinating and doing administrative task in an effort to combat spread of the virus since March 2020.
The Department of Health on August 20, 2020, has began staffing hospitals will National Guard troops to support where needed.
The release states that there are currently more than 580 Soldiers and Airmen supporting 58 counties in Tennessee.
