The Hawaii National Guard remains on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 until the end of the year as the highly contagious delta variant causes a surge in cases in the islands. This is a reversal after Hawaii officials announced in June that the mission would end and likely end in September.
The current task force is made up of about 550 soldiers and airmen, with many soldiers beginning to demilitarize as Hawaii leaders loosened travel restrictions during several months of relatively low number of cases. It is not yet clear whether it will attempt to withdraw the guards and troops amid rising cases.
“Based on the current increase in COVID-19 infections, Hawaii National Guard leadership assessed that we would need to continue our support to the counties and the State of Hawaii in their efforts to reduce COVID-19,” said Brig. Task force commander General Musa Kaowi said in a press release on Tuesday.
The press release said federal funding for the deployment was due to expire in September, but Governor David Ige asked President Joe Biden to extend the funding until December.
"The federal government is paying for this, so it's good news for the state, and it keeps us going on the availability of governors and mayors," said task force deputy commander Colonel Amy Arfman. phone interview.
Task Force Guards have spearheaded the efforts of the Hawaii Department of Health and other agencies during the pandemic.
Afarman said troops will undertake thermal screening at airports as well as rapid swab testing and vaccination efforts, work on COVID-19 mapping and contact tracing, conduct public health outreach to at-risk communities, and personal protective equipment. Continuing to help deliver.
"We stand ready to assist the state and the city and county in any way we can to the best of our abilities," Arfman said. "So right now leaders are working really hard to make sure they're using all the resources they have available to help the people of Hawaii in the best possible way."
Hawaii health officials reported 565 new cases on Tuesday for a total of 57,235. These included 370 on Oahu, 100 on the Big Island, 70 on Maui, 17 on Kauai, and eight residents diagnosed out of state. There was also a new coronavirus-related death, taking the total to 565.
The majority of cases in Hawaii are attributed to the delta variant, a mutation of the virus that spreads rapidly and infects more children who were little affected by previous strains.
Arfman said that neither military nor civilian officials are sure how the guard's operation could or could be changed to address the more aggressive nature of the version.
"We're constantly in talks to analyze things like this, looking at statistics and science, to make sure we're adjusting appropriately," Arfman said. "As far as the specifics for this, I think state leaders and communities are still working through it."
The expansion of the mission comes as the National Guard has been thinned out across the country. Guardsmen also continue to perform other missions such as responding to natural disasters and deploying to conflict areas around the world.
Most recently Hawaii Guardsmen have participated in fighting wildfires on the Big Island.
They were among those stationed in Washington, D.C. in January to provide security for Biden's inauguration. Many of those soldiers were in Afghanistan less than a year ago.
Several guardsmen tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return to Hawaii after the inauguration. This week the Pentagon announced that with the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the Pfizer vaccine, COVID-19 vaccination would now be mandatory for military service members.
The military has largely remained calm on infection rates among personnel in Hawaii, but at least one Hawaii Guardsman, 53, assigned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, died of COVID-19 in November.