Military COVID Staff Applauded As They Leave Newark Hospital

NEWARK, NJ — Health care workers at University Hospital in Newark have been getting standing ovations throughout the coronavirus pandemic. But this week, they got the chance to give one of their own.

On Monday, doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital bid farewell to 25 military medical support team members, who had been serving as temporary reinforcements to the hospital’s clinical staff during the omicron surge. Watch the video below.

The medical providers, a Medium Medical Team of the Joint Task Force – Civil Support, have been embedded with hospital staff since their arrival on Jan. 20, collaborating with clinical staff on-site, while assisting with and supporting the hospital’s COVID-19 response.

According to recent state statistics, the threat level in Essex County has been receding in recent weeks. As part of its weekly COVID-19 Activity Level Report, the New Jersey Department of Health assigns counties four possible rankings: Low, Moderate, High, and Very High. For the week ending Feb. 12, Essex County ranked as "moderate" – the second straight week it has done so. The county was in "high" status for the week ending Jan. 29.

However, Essex County was still in "high" community transmission status as of Feb. 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data tracker.

• See related article: Newark COVID Case, Death Update: Omicron, Vaccine Rates

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