ALBANY — Temporary nurses who have travelled to Albany to help battle coronavirus at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany will get temporary housing at Albany State University.

Albany, the county seat of Dougherty County, is a hotspot for coronavirus after the virus spread through two highly attended funerals there. Since then, the rural hospital has been struggling to keep up with the high demand for coronavirus care.

So far, Dougherty County has had 560 people test positive for coronavirus and 30 people there have died.

Albany State University will provide rooms for the nurses in one residence hall, which were closed last month following Gov. Brian Kemp’s declaration of a statewide public health emergency due to COVID-19.

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Kemp recently deployed medical support teams to Albany from the Georgia National Guard to provide support to the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital medical staff.

“To all of the healthcare providers working long shifts and sacrificing precious time away from home to protect Georgians, thank you. You are invaluable in our fight against COVID-19. We owe a debt to you that we will never be able to repay,” Kemp said. “The men and women in our healthcare workforce are true heroes, and that is why we are opening our doors to offer free housing to nurses in Albany while they care for patients in need. I ask Georgians to thank our healthcare providers, and I urge them to continue to pray for everyone affected by COVID-19.”

The on-campus housing allocated for healthcare providers will be in one residence hall and separate from units currently occupied by the few students authorized to remain on campus.

The University System of Georgia’s 26 institutions, including Albany State, are currently delivering online instruction through the summer semester. While institutions have remained open, only minimal staff is physically on-site to ensure continuity of certain services.