Roughly 150 New Jersey National Guard members will deploy to long-term care facilities to help with their COVID-19 response and supplement staffing at facilities.

According to a news release from Gov. Phil Murphy, the deployment to more than a dozen facilities is an extension of Joint Task Force COVID Guardian. The task force has provided coordinated help to long-term care facilities since the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The deployment begins on Monday.

“This deployment will send members of our National Guard to long-term care facilities with staffing needs and will act to protect the health and safety of long-term-care residents while the Omicron variant surges throughout the nation,” Murphy said in an announcement.

Members will help staff with various tasks and administrative and logistical support, including testing and screening staff, residents and visitors. Additional tasks include meal set-up, feeding, helping residents from the bed to the chair and walking.

“As we have seen in the community, COVID-19 cases and outbreaks have been rising for several weeks in our long-term care facilities,” New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in an announcement. “We continue to work closely with long-term care facilities throughout the state to ensure that they have the staff they need.”

This article was originally posted on New Jersey deploying national guard to long-term care facilities