New York National Guard Operational Update, May 26, 2020

LATHAM, NY (05/26/2020) (readMedia)-- On Tuesday, May 26, the New York National Guard has 3,420 personnel on the COVID-19 response mission across New York.

This includes 2,837 New York Army National Guard Soldiers and 427 New York Air National Guard Airmen. 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.

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 military medical staff working at four New York City hospitals and the military support to the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The Javits New York Medical Station, placed at the Javits Convention Center, is now in a cold status to respond to future needs in the city as necessary. The Javits New York Medical Station treated 1,095, patients.

New York National Guard members continue to manage the Javits site as the unified command post for the multi-agency response, providing logistics, administration and access control support.

The New York National Guard continues support to 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 being maintained in a cold status.

The New York National Guard is assisting at five antibody testing sites.

There were 281 tests administered at these locations on May 21. Testing was closed over the Memorial Day weekend. 7,573 antibody tests have been administered at the state run locations located at:

• Orange County Community College, Newburgh;

• Erie Community College - North Campus, Williamsville;

• Onondaga Community College, Syracuse;

• SEFCU Arena on the SUNY Albany Campus, Albany;

and Nassau County Community College in East Garden City.

The National Guard continues to support 15 drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites with administrative and logistical support, medical support at some sites and mask fit testing services.

There were 4,454 tests conducted at these sites on Thursday, May 21. The testing sites were closed over the Memorial Day weekend.

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;

• Linden Blvd., Brooklyn;

• SUNY Albany;

• Niagara County Community College in Sandborn, N.Y.;

• The Buffalo Sabres KeyBank Center parking lot in Buffalo;

• SUNY Binghamton;

• Griffiss International Airport, Rome;

and Monroe County Community College in Rochester.

Soldiers and Airmen are collecting samples and providing general-purpose support at the testing locations. 272,586 tests have been conducted at these locations.

The New York National Guard's 24th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team is currently conducting COVID-19 testing at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Brooklyn for staff and patients.

New York National Guard personnel continue food packaging and distribution in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan in New York City, providing 557,726 meals on May 21. Soldiers and Airmen have distributed 13,912,846 meals since beginning the mission.

Similar food distribution missions continue in Westchester County. National Guard troops distributed 2,341 meals on May 21 and have provided 130,682 meal packages since the start of the mission. In Albany County, troops have delivered 4,908 meals to quarantined residents as of May 21.

Soldiers helping to process and ship goods at the regional food bank in Schenectady, N.Y., delivered 7,407 meals as of May 21.

A food support mission, during which food for 1,000 families will be distributed, will take place in Amsterdam, N.Y. on May 28.

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 local governments is ongoing. A total of 63,137gallons of sanitizer have been distributed in the lower Hudson Valley since the start of the mission.

The New York National Guard will deliver medical supplies and COVID 19 test kits to 136 nursing homes and adult care facilities in the Bronx and Queens on May 26.

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

New York National Guard personnel are working with members of the Medical Examiner's Office to assist in the dignified removal of human remains and the intake, storage, and funeral home releases of decedents. 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.

Soldiers are also providing similar assistance to the Westchester and Orange County Medical examiners.

Soldiers are manning phones for the New York City Division of Veterans Services. They are assisting in Operation Vet Check, in which veterans are contacted to see how they are doing or if they require assistance. 5,190 calls have been made.

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. The team assembled 6,700 testing kits on May 21.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Soldiers and Airmen assembled 350,000 COVID 19 test kits as part of a statewide effort to provide testing materials to nursing homes and adult care facilities. Over 1,394,000 COVID 19 test kits have been assembled.

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.