As Milwaukee mayor seeks PPE from FEMA, Army Corps of Engineers scouts sites for field hospitals

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Monday, March 30 sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency outlining a dire need for resources to fight COVID-19 in Milwaukee, seeking more than 62,000 respirators, more than 190,000 masks, and other personal protective equipment. This, with state officials preparing to open field hospitals and voluntary isolation centers in anticipation of a surge in COVID-19 patients.

Mayor Barrett submitted the below letter to FEMA Monday, requesting supplies:

"It's frustrating," said Juanita Richard, who lives on Milwaukee's north side, among the hardest hit areas. "They're not doing enough, at all. How are people supposed to survive?"

With the Army Corps of Engineers scouting space in Milwaukee to help flatten the curve, officials with the Wisconsin Center issued this statement to FOX6 News:

Meanwhile, members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard continued training in preparation for potential specimen collection missions in support of the state’s COVID-19 response -- anticipated missions the Wisconsin National Guard could conduct at the request of partner agencies in Wisconsin, with more than 300 citizen soldiers and airmen on state active duty, ready for potential missions the state could request.

"We do continue to prepare for a potential specimen collection mission and that mission would entail mobile testing sites," said Wisconsin National Guard Captain Joe Trovato.

At the Wisconsin Center, with more than 188,000 square feet of space, the CEO said the facility would be ready to be used in the fight against COVID-19 if necessary.