Defense Dept. To Send Medical Staff To MN Amid COVID-19 Surge

MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. government will send two Department of Defense medical teams to Minnesota to relieve doctors and nurses as they treat COVID-19 and other patients.

Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday that the federal government had accepted his request for emergency assistance amid the state's latest COVID-19 surge.

The emergency staffing teams, composed of 22 medical personnel each, will support staff at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and the St. Cloud Hospital.

The teams are set to arrive next week and will begin treating patients immediately, officials said.

"Hospitals around the state need urgent support, and my Administration is using every tool at our disposal to help them," Walz said in a news release.

"The emergency staffing teams coming to HCMC and St. Cloud Hospital over the next few days will provide an important measure of relief to the healthcare personnel who remain on the frontline of this crisis. Every day, our doctors and nurses are treating Minnesotans sick with COVID-19 or suffering other emergencies. But they are under water, and they need all the help we can give them. I’m grateful the Biden Administration heeded our request and is sending in reinforcements."

Minnesota is now the nation's COVID-19 hot spot. The state's rate of new COVID-19 infections is now the highest in the country.

Just last week, 1,282 Minnesotans were hospitalized due to COVID-19, the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reports. Of those cases, 311 required the use of intensive care units.

"The only way to successfully respond to this historic pandemic is for all of us to work together at the state and federal level," said Joe Kelly, director of the Homeland Security Emergency Management division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

"Our ongoing partnership with FEMA is ensuring Minnesota receives the federal resources we need now as we work through this latest surge," Kelly said. "Thank you to the military members who are coming to help us once again, just like the U.S. Air Force teams that supported the State Fair community vaccination site last spring."

MN Teen Dies, State COVID-19 Deaths Pass 9,000 Mark

Another teenager has died of COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Tuesday. The teen's death comes as the state passed 9,000 deaths from the virus.

The teen lived in Goodhue County.

As of Wednesday, 9,093 Minnesotas have died from COVID-19. Five Minnesotans under 20 have died as a result of the virus.

Also read:

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• MN COVID-19 Deaths Before Thanksgiving: Comparing 2021 To 2020