AUGUSTA, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Fort Custer National Guard Training Center in Augusta has been chosen as a back-up facility to quarantine patients with the coronavirus.
The Department of Defense selected the training center to be added to the list of 10 other military bases throughout the country capable of holding up to 20 people for observation.
Other bases selected throughout the U.S. include:
– Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
– Great Lakes Training Center Navy Base, Illinois, for O’Hare International Airport
– Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Texas, for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
– March Air Reserve Base, California, for Los Angeles International Airport
– Travis Air Force Base, California, for San Francisco International Airport
– Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
– Fort Hamilton, New York, for John F. Kennedy International Airport
– Naval Base Kitsap, Washington, for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
– Joint Base Anacostia, Washington D.C., for Dulles International Airport
– Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, for Newark Liberty International Airport
Officials say the bases will only be activated once all U.S. Department of Health and Human Services facilities have been filled.
The Fort Custer National Guard base released a statement regarding the selection:
“The Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Michigan National Guard stand ready with capabilities to support the Governor, the State of Michigan, and the citizens of the State of Michigan, in the response to the Novel Coronavirus. Ft. Custer, a Michigan National Guard federal training center, is currently on the list of federal facilities that could provide support for repatriated individuals, as needed. The training center could provide up to 20 rooms. To date, Ft. Custer has not been asked to provide the facilities and there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Michigan. Additionally, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs stands ready to support the activities of other State of Michigan departments and agencies, including the Michigan State Police and the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Officials stated should the base be needed, the health department would be responsible for all care, transportation and security of the patients.
