Oregon Governor Calls Up 1,500 National Guard Troops to Fight the Covid Pandemic

In response to a reported increase in Covid hospitalizations and cases, Governor Kate Brown of Oregon is planning to deploy as many as 1,500 National Guard troops.

According to the Epoch Times, 500 troops will be deployed in the initial phase of operations on Aug. 20, which will assist hospitals throughout the state with logistical, equipment, and material handling, as well as administering… viruses tests and other hospital operations.

“I know this is not the summer many of us envisioned, with over 2.5 million Oregonians vaccinated against COVID-19. The harsh, and frustrating reality is that the Delta variant has changed everything. Delta is highly contagious, and we must take action now,” Brown said in a statement.

Governor Brown has recently restored mask mandates to all indoor public spaces. He also mandated that all state employees get vaccinated by the 18th of October. Oregon’s initial restrictions on state-wide masks, social distancing, and capacity were lifted in June.

“Oregon logged a record-high 635 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Aug. 10, prompting Brown to reinstate a statewide indoor mask mandate,” the Epoch Times reported. “The number of patients hospitalized with the virus grew every day since, reaching 784 on Aug. 13, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.”

Kate Brown gave an update on the recorded hospitalizations on Friday.

Brown stated that as of this morning, 733 Oregonians are currently in hospital with severe COVID-19 cases, including 185 in ICU. “I cannot stress enough how serious this situation is, so I am deploying up 1500 Oregon Guard members in support of hospitals across the state.

Despite the report surge in cases and hospitalizations, which may in part reflect routine testing, the 7-day mortality rate has remained flat at 6 per day. Oregon is home to 4.2 million residents.