New York National Guard Operational Update, April 29, 2020

LATHAM, NY (04/29/2020) (readMedia)-- On Wednesday, April 29, the New York National Guard has 3,656 personnel on the COVID-19 response mission across the state.

This includes 3,028 New York Army National Guard Soldiers and 461 Air National Guard Airmen. Members of the New York Guard (State Defense Force) and New York Naval Militia are also mobilized for the mission.

Six Joint Task Forces are operating on Long Island, New York City, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, Syracuse and Buffalo to support state and local governments. A Dual Status Command Task Force under the command of Brig. Gen. Michel Natali, the Assistant Adjutant General, Army, leads efforts to employ active and National Guard military resources in New York City.

The Dual Status Command is supporting 2,700 military and civilian medical staff working at Javits and in New York City hospitals. U.S. Army Soldiers of the 44th Medical Brigade are providing staffing at the Javits New York Medical Station.

Additional medical staff from the U.S. Army Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Air Force and the Civilian Medical Reserve Corps are also working at the alternative care site.

As of April 28, 1,094, patients have been treated at the Javits New York Medical Station.

New York National Guard members continue to manage the Javits site as the unified command post for the multi-agency response.

New York Air National Guard Pararescue Airmen, who are trained as emergency medical technicians, from New York's 106th Rescue Wing, are also aiding civilian personnel in city hospitals.

The New York National Guard is supporting the alternate care facility at the South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island. Additional forces are providing support at three other potential alternate care sites on Long Island or Westchester.

The New York National Guard continues to support 10 drive-thru testing sites. There were 3,766 tests conducted on April 27. Poor weather resulted in lower turnout. More than 174,900 tests have been administered at these sites as of April 27.

Sites are located at:

• SUNY Stony Brook;

• Jones Beach State Park;

• Staten Island adjacent the Staten Island University Hospital;

• Glen Island State Park in Westchester County;

• The Anthony Wayne Service area in Rockland County;

• Lehman College and the Bay Plaza Mall in the Bronx;

• Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, Brooklyn;

And at SUNY Albany in Albany.

Soldiers and Airmen are collecting samples and providing general-purpose support at the testing locations.

The New York National Guard is preparing to provide administrative and logistical support to five new testing locations in central and western New York later this week. These locations will be at:

• Niagara County Community College in Sandborn;

• The Buffalo Sabres Parking Lot in Buffalo;

• The State University of New York, Binghamton in Binghamton;

• Monroe County Community College in Rochester;

And Griffiss International Airport in Rome.

National Guard personnel continue food packaging and distribution today in the Bronx, Yonkers, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan in New York City, providing 267,676 meals on April 27. Soldiers have distributed 3,054,535 meals since beginning the mission.

Similar food distribution missions are underway in Westchester County. National Guard troops distributed 2,233 meals on April 27, and have provided 87,224 meal packages since the start of the mission. In Albany County 2,620, meals have been delivered to quarantined residents, or picked up, as of April 27.

New York National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been working at the regional food bank in Latham, N.Y. and have prepared 97 pallets of food for shipment across northeastern New York.

Soldiers helping to process and ship goods at the regional food bank in Schenectady, N.Y., delivered 2,230 meals as of April 27. A similar food distribution mission commenced in Chenango County on April 21 and 2,804 meals have been distributed as of April 23.

A one-time mission was conducted on Friday, April 24 in Amsterdam, Montgomery County and 1,000 meals were distributed. A similar one-time food distribution is planned for Delhi on April 30.

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

Hand sanitizer delivery to areas in the lower Hudson Valley is ongoing. On April 27, 502 gallons of hand sanitizer were delivered to four locations in the lower Hudson Valley. A total of 50,121 gallons of sanitizer have been distributed since the start of the mission.

The New York National Guard continues to provide logistics support to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City.

There are 250 New York National Guard personnel working with members of the Medical Examiner's Office to assist in the dignified removal of human remains when required. Another 70 Soldiers assigned to the active Army's 54th Quartermaster Company are also providing staff assistance to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on New York City. Soldiers and Airmen from a number of units are conducting this mission under the control of the 369th Sustainment Brigade.

The support mission also includes assistance to the Westchester and Orange County Medical Examiners.

Soldiers continue to man phones at two New York City call centers, including one for the New York City Division of Veterans Services. New York National Guard Soldiers continue to provide administrative support at two New York City 911 call centers.

Soldiers and Airmen continue packaging COVID-19 test kits for the New York State Department of Health at the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany. They assembled more 20,000 kits April 27 for distribution across the state. The team has built 446,850 testing kits since starting the mission.

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.

The New York National Guard Public Affairs Officer is Col. Richard Goldenberg. He can be reached at Richard.l.goldenberg.mil@mail.mil or (518), 786-4581