US guard troops aid medical setup in Los Angeles

Airmen from the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing are aiding efforts to increase medical support as part of a statewide COVID-19 response effort.

This week they were tasked to set up a Federal Medical Station inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, the third medical station site the Airmen have set up in the state.

On Wednesday, there were more than 8,200 cases and at least 173 deaths in California, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University. Michigan, which has 30 million fewer residents, had about 7,600 cases and at least 259 deaths.

Health officials have warned that as testing ramps up, the number of cases will grow, in some instances very quickly.

Many have credited the states early action to issue stay-at-home orders - first in the San Francisco Bay Area two weeks ago and then a few days later in Los Angeles and the rest of the state, with successfully slowing the rise of cases.

Many retail businesses and social venues such as theme parks are closed, restaurants are only offering take out or delivery, and most school campuses have been closed for weeks.

While social distancing precautions seem to be generally obeyed by Californias population, there are concerns that the virus will rampage through enclosed, crowded facilities such as nursing homes and prisons, and among the states estimated 150,000 homeless people, who are hard to test or quarantine.

Los Angeles County public health reported that as of Tuesday they were investigating possible outbreaks at 20 nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities.

In the city of Los Angeles, the Union Rescue Mission, which serves Skid Rows huge homeless population, reported a staff member was hospitalized with COVID-19, several others were sent to a quarantine facility set up at a beach RV park and 95 men were in quarantine on the mission's third floor, which houses a rehabilitation program.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.