MACON, Ga. — Governor Brian Kemp announced the state bought four temporary medical units to support the fight against the coronavirus on Monday. One of those sites will be in Macon.
He said the medical units will be used to expand bed capacity and deploy them based on need.
"To quickly increase staffing and critical healthcare locations affected by the virus, the state has partnered with Jackson Healthcare," said Kemp.
He said it will become operational on May 5, but he didn't say where the site would be located in Macon.
Macon-Bibb Spokesperson Chris Floore says the county has been in contact with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency for the past few weeks to see if they can meet any of their healthcare needs for the region.
"I think serving as a hub city of Middle Georgia, we do have access to other areas and we are a centralized location which can help. I think this is planning ahead for any future peak that may come along so that we're prepared should anything overwhelm our current healthcare system," said Floore.
Governor Kemp says the state also has plans to build an alternative care facility in Atlanta for patients who test positive for COVID-19.
"We will be able to house Georgians with mild to moderate illness and if need we can quickly expand capacity to 409 ICU beds," said Kemp.
Floore says the county will continue to work with GEMA for more medical site information.
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