INDIANAPOLIS — With the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Indiana National Guard will be deploying to hundreds of long-term care centers beginning on November 2 to help with testing and collecting data.
399 National Guardsmen will be working in 133 long-term care facilities on Nov. 2, on Nov.9, 750 guardsmen will be working in 250 facilities. In mid-November 1,350 guardsmen are expected to be working in 534 facilities according to Wednesday's briefing.
The state will also provide 2 million N95 masks and other PPE to the facilities. Infection control training will be done with all long-term care employees.
In a response to the surge, Indiana is looking to hire more contact tracers.
The state said it was told by the federal government that it should expect the first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine by late November and a second shipment by mid-December.
The timeline could change and the state said it will take months before a vaccine is available to everyone.