US army doctors deploy to Houston hospital

US soldiers prepared to take over a wing of a north Houston hospital to treat COVID-19 patients, as Texas sought help from across the country to deal with its coronavirus surge.

A 86-person team of doctors, nurses, and support staff was setting up a nursing station at United Memorial Medical Center and pairing up with hospital staff to see patients. They expect to begin treating up to approximately 40 patients in the coming days.

Some of the soldiers wore their duty uniforms. Others wore scrubs affixed with strips of surgical tape that had their ranks, names, and medical titles.

The soldiers came from around the country, overseen by U.S. Army North in San Antonio. Around 580 Army and Navy personnel have been assigned to Texas.

"This facility, working with the United States military, is something that we asked for," said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, standing near the soldiers as they moved throughout the hospital wing. "We have exhausted medical personnel that we're so grateful to, but we didn't have enough."

(Representative Image) (Image Credit Pixabay)