EL PASO, Texas — The Texas National Guard has sent a 36-member team to El Paso to assist morgues in the border region with the number of dead as a result of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.
Statewide, the Texas health department on Saturday reported a one-day high of 12,597 new virus cases, nearly 20,500 dead and more than 8,200 virus hospitalizations.
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The White House authorized the missions to continue until Dec. 31 after governors asked for more help.
“The Texas military will provide us with the critical personnel to carry out our fatality management plan and we are very grateful to them for their ongoing support,” El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said in late Friday when the deployment was announced.
The pandemic is blamed for more 300 deaths in El Paso County since October, 853 total since the pandemic began.
Jail inmates are being paid to move bodies and county leaders are offering $27 an hour for morgue workers.
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The 67 volunteer soldiers will be assisting officers at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge with duties such as distributing mail and meals.
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, in a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking for support for a 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew in the county, said mortuaries are being overwhelmed.
“As of (Friday), our Medical Examiner’s Office is reporting that 234 fatalities are being held at our main morgue and at our nine mobile morgues,” Samaniego wrote.
Public attendance at ceremonies had been limited the last two years by the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Saturday, the Air Force is the only military academy, so far, where cadets are not being commissioned due to vaccine refusal.
They may be required to pay back thousands of dollars in tuition costs, according to Air Force officials.
The measure would also upgrade the discharge status of troops already kicked out of the service for refusing to get vaccinated.
The deadly coronavirus outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans' Home in northern Illinois killed 36 veterans.
About 975 newly minted air and space officers graduated at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday.
Soon, Alaska’s soldiers will become “Arctic Angels."
A move to fast-track confirmation of the president's nominee was blocked by a Republican senator on Wednesday.
Machinist Mate's Fireman Conner Owens died on Dec. 11 in Newport News, Virginia.
The Mission Daybreak initiative will look for new approaches to address veterans' mental health issues.
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