A National Guard unit consisting of 25 members will arrive in Pullman on Sept. 8 to assist with COVID-19 testing.

The unit offered to assist with testing because of the increase in COVID-19 cases in Pullman. It contacted the Whitman County Public Health Department on Monday, said Phil Weiler, WSU vice president for marketing and communications. The unit is currently stationed in Yakima and offering testing there.

A testing site will be set up to collect samples from students who will be tested at WSU’s One Health Diagnostics lab, Weiler said.

He said the testing site’s exact location has not yet been determined but will likely be near off-campus apartments where the majority of COVID-19 cases are reported.

It is possible the unit will be stationed in Pullman until the end of the semester, Weiler said.

“I would expect that they will be here for probably at least a couple of weeks, if not months if the need exists,” he said.