State Of Emergency: Maryland National Guard Prepares To Open New Testing Sites As Coronavirus Cases Skyrocket

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — WJZ was fixed uncommon entree to the grooming for 1,000 Maryland National Guard members who are connected the frontlines successful the combat against Covid-19. Guard members are preparing successful groups successful Dundalk and fitted for peculiar masks to support them harmless astatine investigating sites.

They are besides learning however to decently instrumentality idiosyncratic protective instrumentality connected and off, from gowns to gloves.

The Maryland National Guard is preparing to assistance with investigating and different #COVID19-fighting measures astir the state. We’ll amusement you however they’re grooming contiguous astatine 5&6 connected @wjz pic.twitter.com/YJJ7tldsvR

— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) January 7, 2022

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WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren spoke one-on-one with Brigadier General Janeen Birckhead, who is helping pb the efforts.

“It’s a immense undertaking—and retrieve that we’re doing this successful a covid environment,” she said. “We’re precise conscious that our soliders travel from the community, and we are bringing them successful disconnected of their afloat clip employment connected precise abbreviated announcement arsenic they get prepared, get ready. And adjacent week, they’ll beryllium moving retired connected their mission.”

11,778 caller #COVID19 infections reported successful Maryland this Friday… 59 much radical person died. The positivity complaint dropped somewhat to 28.3%. @wjz pic.twitter.com/yc4FTl6j1A

— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) January 7, 2022

National Guard members volition beryllium assisting hospitals wherever exigency rooms are strained. They person already helped acceptable up investigating sites successful Anne Arundel and Harford Counties, doing truthful successful conscionable 48 hours, Birckhead told WJZ. They are poised to assistance astatine galore of the 20 different caller investigating sites opening this month.

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“We recognize it has been a dense load investigating radical coming disconnected holidays and kids going backmost to school,” Brigadier General Birckhead said.

Omicron Surge Leads To Almost 30% Positivity In Maryland, Hogan Announces 10 New Testing Sites To Relieve Pressure On Hospitals https://t.co/hfpfLBDt4I @wjz #Maryland #Covid_19

— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) January 7, 2022

Learning however to administer tests the close mode is critical, arsenic these defender members volition beryllium doing truthful thousands of times successful the coming weeks.

The defender has been instrumental successful Maryland’s Covid-19 combat since the aboriginal days of the pandemic, and these members of the assemblage are present backmost successful progressive work arsenic the authorities deals with record-high infections.

National Guard is being reactivated to assistance with vaccination effort successful Maryland @wjz pic.twitter.com/t7ISharHEK

— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) December 15, 2020

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Governor Larry Hogan announced this week the activation of the Maryland National Guard arsenic helium declared a 30-day authorities of emergency. He said the adjacent 4 to six weeks volition beryllium the astir challenging of the pandemic.

Mike Hellgren