Medical corps troops from the California National Guard have been deployed to numerous hospitals throughout the state to help the facilities process a spike in deaths due to COVID-19, numerous media outlets reported.
Guard personnel have been dispatched to 13 medical facilities in the state, Los Angeles’ CW network affiliate KTLA reported, including Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles, Methodist Hospital of Southern California in Arcadia and Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley.
Units of six-to-10 members, led by a physician or nurse, are being used to assist the medical examiner process the bodies, Patch Los Angeles said quoting Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
"The terrible reality is that the average number of people dying each day from COVID-19 illness ... is about 150 people a day, and this is almost as high as the average number of people dying each day from every other cause, which is about 170 people," Ferrer said.
Los Angeles County has seen the most deaths in the state (10,056) from COVID-19-related causes, nearly seven times higher than the next closest county, according to worldometers.info.
However, the seven-day moving average of new daily infections has steadily declined from its peak of 44,782 since Dec. 21 and the daily deaths average has remained below 259 since Dec. 22.
"Our medical examiner is taking overflow of bodies from hospitals that don't have room to store them," Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said. "And my understanding is that the medical examiner will receive assistance for their operations from the California National Guard, and we're expecting them by next Monday.''
The National Guard personnel are to assist with ''management and administrative functions,'' Solis said.
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