Governors in New York and Maine have activated National Guard troops to help respond to the Covid crisis amid a feared winter surge in cases, while New Hampshire is also expecting assistance.
Mills said the decision was made following discussions with Maine's hospital systems and as the state and the rest of New England experience record hospitalizations during a sustained Covid-19 surge, which her office said was driven"almost entirely" by the delta variant.
Asserting that she would be deploying troops"to expand our hospitals’ ability to treat people with Covid-19 and other serious medical conditions," Mills said:"I do not take this action lightly, but we must take steps to alleviate the strain on our health care system and ensure care for all those who need it," she said.