New York National Guard COVID-19 Operational Update, August 27, 2020

LATHAM, NY (08/27/2020) (readMedia)-- On Thursday August 27, the New York National Guard has 1,136 personnel on the COVID-19 response mission across New York.

This includes 942 New York Army National Guard Soldiers and 95 New York Air National Guard Airmen. 99 members of the New York Guard (the State Defense Force) and New York Naval Militia are also mobilized for the mission in State Active Duty status.

The statewide task force is organized at the state headquarters in Latham, N.Y. with elements supporting missions from armories in New York City, Peekskill, Troy and Syracuse.

The New York National Guard continues to coordinate with city and state officials for the readiness of the Javits Convention Center and conducts warehousing operations there.

Guard troops also continue to support access control at three potential alternate care sites on Long Island or Westchester that remain in a cold status.

The National Guard continues to support 15 drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites with administrative and logistical support.

National Guard Soldiers and Airman assisted with 2,623 tests on August 26.

The New York National Guard has supported tests for more than 521,079 people since the response began.

Sites are located at:

1) Glen Island State Park, Westchester County;

2) Rockland County, Bear Mountain State Park, Anthony Wayne Recreational Area, Rockland County;

3) SUNY Stony Brook, Suffolk County;

4) Jones Beach State Park, Nassau County;

5) 777 Seaview Ave, Staten Island;

6) Bay Plaza Mall, Bronx;

7) Lehman College, Bronx;

8) Aqueduct Park, Queens;

9) 888 Fountain Ave, Brooklyn;

10) SUNY Albany, Albany;

11) SUNY Binghamton, Broome County;

12) Monroe County Community College, Monroe County;

13) Griffiss International Airport, Oneida County;

14) Niagara County Community College, Niagara County; and

15) The Buffalo Sabres KeyBank Center, Erie County.

New York Soldiers and Airmen continue conducting logistics missions, including warehousing and commodity distribution of medical supplies at five sites in the Hudson Valley, the Albany area, the Mohawk Valley, and New York City.

Soldiers and Airmen continue packaging COVID-19 test kits for the New York State Department of Health for the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany. Service members assembled a total of 3,139,472 test kits.

Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion volunteered August 26 in the distribution of milk and dairy products to the citizens of Herkimer County. Ten Soldiers assisted in distribution of more than 500 gallons of milk and 15,000 pounds of produce to hundreds of families who lined up in cars at the Herkimer County Community College. The event was supported by American Dairy Association North East and local farmers' associations.

New York National Guard images continue to go up on DVIDS: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NYNG, and our NY National Guard Flickr site, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyng.