Courtesy Photo | A mobile testing strike team comprised of Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the...... read more read more
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More than 200 Georgia National Guardsmen are assisting the Department of Public Health (DPH) testing citizens across the state. This new initiative will include 10 new mobile testing teams, also known as ‘strike teams’. The strike teams will deploy to hot spots in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
“When the governor makes something a priority, this organization makes it a priority,” said Maj. Gen. Tom Carden, Georgia’s Adjutant General.
The strike teams intend to test 1,500 citizens per day, with the capability to increase testing based on test-kit availability.
“We are able to anticipate, and focus resources to include human capital on things the governor says are important,” said Carden. “It’s not about us, it’s about being a good teammate and making sure we make everything around us better.”
At the direction of Governor Kemp, the Georgia Guard will partner with Augusta University to stand up a 24/7 operations center to coordinate workflow, logistics, and other initiatives to improve awareness of COVID-19 patterns.
COVID-19 Response
The Georgia Guard’s Joint Task Force (JTF) has deployed over 2,500 members of the Georgia National Guard supporting the overall COVID-19 response. At the Georgia World Congress Center’s 200-bed, alternate care facility, Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers are assisting with traffic flow of staff, patients, and contractors.
The task force’s 69 infection control teams (ICTs) are disinfecting nursing homes and 20 medical support teams (MSTs) are assisting hospital staff to enable them to focus on critical life-saving requirements. Hospital Entry Control Teams (HECTs) are also assisting hospitals; screening visitors at hospital entrances and facilitate movement within facilities.
Teams specializing in infection control, medical support, hospital entry control, and testing collection are "purpose built" capabilities, generated in response to the public health state of emergency.
Task force personnel are packaging food items at 10 food banks and delivering products to Georgians in need, from Dalton to Valdosta. Also, Guardsmen are delivering food weekly to Atlanta Public School students while schools remain closed. This effort has resulted in the delivery of more 62,000 meals.
The Georgia National Guard continues to partner with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Georgia Department of Health to provide the service, support, and direct action necessary to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
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Media wishing to conduct direct coverage of response operations please contact Ms. Desiree Bamba.
Images of the Georgia National Guard activities and operations are available for high-resolution download on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/ganatlguard.
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2020 11:09 |
| Story ID: | 368666 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Georgia National Guard ramps up support to state's COVID-19 testing, by Desiree Bamba, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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