New Jersey: National Guardsman die week after he tested positive for COVID-19

Falling prey to the coronavirus infection, a member of the New Jersey National Guard, Captain Douglas Linn Hickok died on March 28 after being hospitalized for over a week and also became the first US service member to catch the virus. The mishap happened even when the government adopted several precautionary measures to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The Pentagon reportedly released a statement on March 29 and said that Hickok had been in the hospital since March 21 after testing positive for COVID-19. This is the third loss faced by the Department of Defense. Earlier being a contractor who worked at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency along with a military dependent.

A heartbroken governor Phil Murphy, shared the news of the demise on his Twitter handle and expressed his grief of losing who was a drilling guardsman and physician’s assistant as well. He also extended his condolence to the family members of the deceased in his tweet.

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The current superintendent of New Jersey’s state police said approximately 700 police officers in the state have so far tested positive for COVID-19. NJ.com quoted Col. Patrick Callahan saying that two officers who had been in critical conditions are stable now. New Jersey has about 36,000 full-time police officers in total.

Additional ventilators 

To combat the deadly disease, additional ventilators is the need of the hour, Gov. Phil Murphy said on March 29. Murphy, a Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week” that he requested more ventilators during a call with federal officials on March 29 night. “The big headline for us right now are ventilators. We had a very specific conversation with the White House last night about ventilators. That’s our No. 1 ask. It’s our No. 1 need. And that’s the one that we are focused most on right now,” Murphy said.
According to Murphy, the state also has a significant need for personal protective equipment for its medical staff. Murphy said President Trump’s proposed travel advisory for New Jersey, New York and Connecticut was fine with him, noting that state residents were largely avoiding travel.

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(Image credit: AP)