Arizona requested 500 additional medical employees from the federal government to help with an increase in coronavirus cases, Vice President Pence said Wednesday.
Pence flew to Arizona to meet with Governor Doug Ducey (R) and state health officials as coronavirus cases and positivity rates increase in the state. The vice president told reporters that the state’s hospital capacity was still at a “manageable” level, but that Ducey indicated there was a need for additional staff.
“We will talk to FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] to identify the staff that is available, but they will be packing and moving because we want the amazing healthcare workers here in Arizona to know that help is on the way, “Pence said in Phoenix.
The vice president told reporters a day earlier that FEMA had deployed 62 medical aid people in Arizona.
Arizona on Wednesday continued to break records, with nearly 5,000 new cases of coronavirus reported. The state also reported a maximum of 88 new deaths on Wednesday after the death rate had initially remained low despite the increase in cases.
The state’s positivity rate, a measure of how many people have the virus of all who are tested, has increased significantly in recent days to more than 20 percent.
The state health director announced this week that hospitals may activate “crisis care standards,” according to local reports, which allow medical workers to allocate resources to patients based on their likelihood of survival.
The United States has seen an increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks as states ease restrictions aimed at delaying the spread of the disease and as testing increases.
Pence said Tuesday that there are 40 states that have increasing case numbers, increasing positivity rates, or both, and that about half of all new cases come from California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida.
Vice President and Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, traveled to Texas on Sunday and Arizona on Wednesday. Both will visit Florida on Thursday.
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