Gov. Abbott announces plans for additional aid to fight COVID-19 in El Paso
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 29: Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas during a press conference at the Texas S
AUSTIN - Governor Greg Abbott announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) activated additional resources to help combat COVID-19 in the El Paso region.
State officials say HHS is deploying two 35-person Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) and a Trauma Critical Care Team (TCCT).
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The governor also announced the opening of an alternate facility to expand hospital capacity in the region.
The facility will be located at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center and have a capacity of 50 beds and can expand to 100 beds if needed.
HHS will also deploy Regional Emergency Coordinators from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to El Paso and to the Texas State Operations Center to assist with the coordination of federal assets to support this mission.
The new facility and the resources are expected to arrive in the next few days.
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"Texas is grateful to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for providing these crucial resources and for working alongside state and local officials to combat the spread of COVID-19 in El Paso," said Governor Abbott.
"We are working closely with our federal and local partners to meet the needs of the El Paso community and ultimately bring hospitalizations down."