COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Governor Michael DeWine is enlisting the help of the National Guard to deal with what he says is a serious situation at hospitals around the state.

The Governor announced on Friday that he has issued an order sending 1,050 troops to hospitals to help ease problems caused by rising COVID-19 admissions.

The plan is for guard members to begin arriving at hospitals on Monday with a focus on the Akron-Canton and Cleveland areas where the outbreak is the most severe.

Of the 1,050 guard members, 150 are highly trained medical personnel. The remaining guard members will be assigned duties such as patient transport, food services, and environmental concerns at hospitals.

According to Ohio Hospitalization Data, as of Thursday, 4,723 patients in hospitals around the state were COVID patients. One in three ICU patients tested positive for COVID.

In the 13 county region which includes the Valley and the Akron-Canton area, one in three hospital patients, and half of the ICU patients are COVID positive.

Dewine says Ohio is seeing the highest number of COVID admissions since December 22, of last year and continues to approach an all-time high number, placing what the Governor said was unprecedented pressure on hospital staff.

DeWine noted that the high level of the Delta variant has put a strain on hospital staff, noting that nine out ten of those hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

The state is also working with a health care staffing company to hire nurses and other medical personnel from other states to ease the pressure on hospitals.

To ease the strain on the health system, DeWine urges people not to go to emergency rooms for COVID testing. Tests are available at pharmacies and there are free test kits at libraries.

The Governor is also urging schools to reinstate masking policies to stop the spread of COVID.