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Florida National Guard Called Up in Coronavirus Response

Army Photo by Spec. James M. Lanza, 107th MPAD)
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Florida National Guard
Florida National Guardsman During Hurricane Matthew Response

TheFlorida National Guardhas been called upon to assist in distributing medical supplies to coronavirus hotspots throughout the state. In a news release, the Florida National Guard says it has 1,010 members on active duty, and they’re preparing to expand their support to community-based testing sites in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Orange counties in the near future. Their main mission, they say, is to deliver supplies and help set up testing sites wherever counties ask for their assistance. 

Collier County Commissioner Penny Taylor sent out abulletinthis weekend addressing concerns from her constituents about the presence of military vehicles—allegedly including tanks—spotted on Southwest Florida roadways. Taylor shared the following from Dan Summers, Collier County’s Emergency Operations Center Director: "I have spoken with the Florida Department of Emergency Management and unquestionably there are no tanks moving across the state. The StateEmergency Management office is also seeing these “fake-news” discussions and are working to correct rumors and/or false videos."

He goes on to advise people to right-click on the picture or video to verify how old the image is.