1 July

The Swiss Armed Forces have officially ended deployments in support of the Covid-19 relief measures, with the final 50 personnel were discharged from their responsibilities. CORONA 20 taskforce involved around 6,000 military personnel who were temporarily assigned to participate and support the pandemic response, reported swissinfo.ch. They carried out several tasks such as cleaning and disinfection work, providing protective equipment, fielding emergency hospitals, consultation centres and more. The personnel offered service and support for about 320,000 days. The civil defence force supported the army with nearly 24,000 men and women.

Soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard are supporting free Covid-19 testing in the state. The National Guard is continuing its collaboration with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan State Police, State Emergency Operations Center, and local health departments. The no-cost testing is being done at the drive-thru site. Over 45 trained testing teams are ready to support. 20 of them are currently assisting the community testing mission.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) have announced £6m of new funding for 100 Armed Forces charities in the country. The extra funding will make sure serving personnel, veterans and their families continue to receive the required support for their vital work during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will benefit charities located in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The OVA has also launched a study recently to understand how Covid-19 has affected the veteran community in the UK.