The federal government plans to send 44 military medical workers to Michigan to assist hospitals treating coronavirus patients during a fourth surge that has become the worst in the nation, according to state health officials.
“It also will open beds at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Detroit for transfers. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought the assistance at the request of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association,” the Associated Press (AP) reported Wednesday.
The two groups of 22 physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists are scheduled to arrive next week and tend patients for 30 days inside Beaumont Hospital located in Dearborn, and Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, the health department explained.
Over 4,100 individuals had been hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, the AP report said, adding that the number of hospitalized adults who had confirmed illnesses was 3,900, which is 87 percent more than one month ago and approximately 94 percent of the state’s record high that was reached in April.
“Right now, our doctors and nurses are reporting the vast majority of their patients are unvaccinated or have not yet received a booster dose,” the governor noted in a recent statement.
“We can all do our part to help reduce the strain on our hospital systems by getting vaccinated, making an appointment to get a booster dose and continuing to take precautions to keep ourselves and loved ones safe,” she added.
Last week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced an indoor mask advisory for residents two years old and up before the holiday season, regardless of their vaccination status.
Brian Peters, who is CEO of the statewide hospital group, described the current situation as “dire” and said the Department of Defense’s help was “desperately needed.”
“Many hospitals throughout the state are operating at capacity, delaying nonemergency medical procedures and placing their emergency departments on diversion,” he explained. “Receiving these teams of federal caregivers can only help those hospitals.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Whitmer (D) was seen maskless at a bar in Washington, DC, according to photos that emerged in late October.
The pictures obtained by the Washington Free Beacon showed Whitmer at the Vue rooftop bar at the Hotel Washington without a mask, “a violation of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) indoor mask mandate,” Breitbart News reported at the time:
“Whitmer gained a reputation last year for her strict coronavirus policies when cases began surging, but her reputation suffered, per polling, as she repeatedly came under fire for violating her own orders,” the Breitbart News report concluded.