ATLANTA – As COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to rise, Gov. Brian Kemp deployed the Georgia National Guard Tuesday to hospitals across the state.
Kemp announced that 105 medically-trained Guard members will assist staff at 10 hospitals, including Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.
“These guardsmen will assist our frontline healthcare workers as they provide quality medical care during the current increase in cases and hospitalizations,” the governor said.
“This Georgia National Guard mission is in addition to the 2,800 state-supported staff and 450 new beds brought online I announced last week, at a total state investment of $625 million through December of this year.”
In addition to NGMC, troops will be assigned to the following hospitals:
Southeast Georgia Health System, Brunswick
Wellstar Kennestone, Marietta
Piedmont Henry, Stockbridge
Phoebe Putney, Albany
Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah
Navicent Health, Macon
Grady Hospital, Atlanta
Piedmont Fayette, Fayetteville
Houston Medical Center, Warner Robins
Kemp, who is against mask and vaccine mandates, urged Georgians “to talk to a medical professional about getting vaccinated.”
Georgia passed 1 million confirmed cases of the virus last week and stood at 1,041,502 cases as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the state Department of Public Health. COVID-19 has hospitalized 71,152 Georgians and is responsible for 22,309 confirmed or probable deaths.
