The Pentagon will send roughly 500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist that department's efforts to deal with the new coronavirus, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
The sources said the Pentagon approved a request by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The United States already maintains an average of 5,000 troops at the southwest border to support Border Patrol by performing non-law enforcement duties.
The latest deployment will bolster those ranks as border agents grapple with possible exposure to COVID-19, the disease cause by the virus.