EL PASO, Texas — The military has begun deploying to El Paso to assist the state in its response to surging coronavirus cases in the area.
As of Nov. 16, the El Paso COVID-19 dashboard showed that there are currently about 34,000 active cases. More than 1,100 people are hospitalized and about 300 people are in the ICU due to coronavirus. In total, 769 people have died from COVID-19 in El Paso.
Three U.S. Air Force Medical Specialty Teams started deploying to El Paso at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Nov. 6. Each team is comprised of about 20 military medical providers. They are providing support at three El Paso hospitals: The University Medical Center of El Paso, the Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus and the Las Palmas Del Sol Medical Center.
According to the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Gov. Greg Abbott has also renewed Texas' disaster declaration for COVID-19.
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The Texas Tribune reported Nov. 15 that inmates from El Paso's detention facility are being brought in to assist the morgue with the overflow of bodies awaiting autopsy.
Between four and eight inmates from the detention facility’s trustee program are volunteering daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The inmates doing the work are misdemeanor offenders and those in minimum custody. The shifts started Monday, Nov. 9.
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