NJ Gets OK For National Guard Support In Coronavirus Crisis

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey has received approval from the federal government to put National Guard forces to work as the state deals with the impacts of the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted on Friday that President Donald Trump had approved his request to use the National Guard.

"Spoke this afternoon with @realDonaldTrump, who told me he would approve my request for use of @NationalGuard forces in New Jersey under Title 32," Murphy wrote. "Grateful to our brave men and women in uniform for their support in the war against #COVID19."

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Trump on Thursday declared New Jersey a major disaster area as Murphy announced a stunning increase in coronavirus cases: 2,492, as well as 19 more deaths. Read more: NJ 'Major Disaster' Area: 2,492 New Coronavirus Cases, 19 Deaths

Brig. Gen. Jemal Beale, the head of the state’s National Guard, told NJ.com the most likely missions will be helping with logistics, transportation, traffic control, security, and using engineers to help bring any damaged facilities back online.

Murphy had announced he was mobilizing the National Guard on March 16 as the number of positive test results began to climb and he began to tighten restrictions, ordering schools closed, shutting down businesses and curtailing gatherings in an effort to enforce slow the spread of the virus.

On March 16, there were 178 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state, with three deaths. As of Friday afternoon, the totals had risen to 8,825 positive tests and 108 people have died from it, according to the state health department. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Murphy on Friday noted the test results the state is receiving are from samples taken as much as a week ago, so they are continuing to rise significantly because they do not yet show the impact of the stay-at-home order that took effect at 9 p.m. on March 21. The rapid rise also reflects the expanded testing, which includes drive-through testing sites at Bergen County Community College and at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

Five more testing centers were announced on March 20 and are expected to open shortly. One, at Ocean County College, is set to open Monday. It is operating on an appointment-only basis and had more than 300 people who had signed up as of Friday.

In addition to the testing centers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is setting up four "pop-up" hospitals to provide additional support for hospitals that are running out of beds due to the impact of the virus. Read more: 4 'Pop-Up' Hospitals Coming To NJ To Battle Coronavirus

"This authorization enables your timely use of the National Guard to save lives and protect public health and safety," the letter from U.S. Secretary of Defense Martin Esper said. "The men and women of the National Guard are Citizen-Soldiers who stand ready to serve their communities as we fight COVID-19."

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