National Guard To Aid Long Beach Through Coronavirus Crisis

LONG BEACH, CA — Fifty members of the California National Guard 315th Company are scheduled to arrive in Long Beach Friday to provide the city with humanitarian aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Guard personnel, dressed in camouflage uniforms, will provide logistical and administrative support functions at temporary shelters and the city's Rapid Assessment Clinic at Long Beach City College, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said. They will not be armed.

The troops' duties will include assisting medical staff and managing incoming and outgoing traffic at the clinic, monitoring the physical distancing of crowds and housekeeping and meal services at the temporary shelters, Garcia said.

The temporary shelters at Silverado Park and Martin Luther King Jr. Park will be the first sites assisted by National Guard personnel, Garcia said.

"The assistance from the National Guard will enable us to further expand our sheltering and health care capacity in Long Beach," Garcia said.

Long Beach declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 4. The Emergency Operations Center requested support from the National Guard on April 2, according to Garcia.

Los Angeles, as well as other California jurisdictions, have already received assistance.

Long Beach reported Thursday that it has had eight COVID-19 related deaths, and 303 people have tested positive for the virus.

City News Service