The Pentagon is sending emergency medical teams to major hospitals in Minnesota to relieve doctors as the state deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The medical teams—each with 22 medical personnel—will arrive next week and immediately begin treating patients at the Hennepin County Medical Center and St. Cloud Hospital, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s office announced in a statement.
“Every day, our doctors and nurses are treating Minnesotans sick with COVID-19 or suffering other emergencies. But they are under water, and they need all the help we can give them,” the governor said. “I’m grateful the Biden Administration heeded our request and is sending in reinforcements.”
Additionally, Walz announced that a facility in Saint Paul will now act as a “transitional site” for COVID-19 patients who no longer need to be hospitalized but are not ready to go home.
A team of 25 medical staff—including 10 nurses from federal partners and 15 nursing assistants from the Minnesota National Guard and private vendors—will provide transitional care at the Cerenity Senior Care-Marian of Saint Paul.
