LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) -As resources for the coronavirus become scarce, federal, state, and local representatives are working to bring more help to the Gateway City.

COVID-19 cases in Laredo are on the rise, with Webb County surpassing its 3,000th case this week.

To help stop the spread, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that local hospitals should expect assistance from the federal government.

The Department of Defense will distribute more than 500 professionals to seven cities in Texas, including Laredo.

The Department of Health and Human Services will also send a disaster medical assistance team of about 30 to the area.

Cuellar says the department will be working with local officials and hospitals to address those needs

With Laredo sitting on the border with Mexico, Congressman Cuellar says we must work with Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas officials if we want to stop the spread.

The congressman says the cases have gone up in Mexico just like we are seeing on our side of the border and we have to make sure we are giving each other the information to see what we can do to help each other.

Although Laredo still lacks free COVID-19 testing, the congressman says he is working to bring more healthcare access to the Gateway City.

He also says he hopes to see Medicaid expansion, which the State of Texas did not do under the Obama administration.

Cuellar says, "The State of Texas left billions of dollars on the table from the federal government, so if we would've done that we would've been able to cover a lot more people. We're hoping that will change after November."

Congressman Cuellar says he hopes Congress will approve another round of stimulus checks to individuals, small businesses, and schools in the next few weeks. For now, he encourages everyone to wear masks, maintain social distancing and work together.

This week, Cuellar also spoke out on the decision made by the Trump administration to redirect coronavirus statistics to them instead of the CDC.

He said the decision undermines CDC’s credibility and weakens the quality and availability of data.