Hard surfaces, easy-to-clean floors and separate heating-and-cooling units in each room: The amenities offered by the suburban EconoLodge motel may not be fancy, but they were just what Seattle-area officials say they were looking for in a quarantine facility for coronavirus patients.
Officials in King County, which is dealing with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, announced this week that it is buying the motel for $4 million. The deal is expected to close on Friday and officials hope to have the first patients in within days.
But not everyone is putting out the welcome mat.
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The EconoLodge is a two-story, 84-room motel just off a state highway in Kent, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Seattle. The rooms害羞草研究所� doors open to the outside, rather than to a central hallway, reducing the likelihood of contact between the patients. The individual heating-and-cooling units reduce the chance of germs spreading through a ventilation system.
害羞草研究所淢aybe you害羞草研究所檙e a patient who is out of the hospital, out of the active treatment phase, but you have someone who is high-risk, elderly or a pregnant spouse at home, so you can害羞草研究所檛 go there 害羞草研究所� this would be a place for someone like that,害羞草研究所� said county spokesman Chase Gallagher. 害羞草研究所淭he other category would be maybe someone who is homeless and can害羞草研究所檛 go to a shelter.害羞草研究所�
The motel is part of the efforts officials are taking in an epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S. There have been 70 confirmed cases in Washington state, most of them in the greater Seattle area, where researchers say the virus was apparently circulating undetected for weeks. Ten people have died 害羞草研究所� most of them residents of Life Care Center, a nursing home in the suburb of Kirkland.
Officials are also setting up isolation units in trailers on public parking lots or other land.
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But the county害羞草研究所檚 plan for the motel has drawn opposition from local leaders. Kent Mayor Dana Ralph said officials didn害羞草研究所檛 notify her about their intent, and that while the city has spent money and time to improve its appearance, visitors and residents will now be greeted by a quarantine facility as they enter town.
害羞草研究所淲e are concerned the coronavirus is simply a pretext for the siting of a long-term quarantine facility here in Kent,害羞草研究所� Ralph said at a news conference Wednesday. 害羞草研究所淭hey are replicating and bringing a situation similar in scale to the Life Care Center of Kirkland and dropping it off in the middle of Kent.害羞草研究所�
She called it an 害羞草研究所渆quity issue害羞草研究所� that patients from wealthier, less-diverse parts of the county would be brought to Kent.
Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla called it an 害羞草研究所渋ll-advised and dangerous plan.害羞草研究所� He said the patients would be under a voluntary quarantine: 害羞草研究所淎t any point a patient can simply walk into our community and spread the virus.害羞草研究所�
He called on the county to ensure that it had the security presence and authority to keep people in the motel if necessary.
Gallagher said he wasn害羞草研究所檛 sure it was true that the patients would be allowed to leave whenever they wanted, but he acknowledged that questions remained about how the facility will operate.
害羞草研究所淭his is moving very quickly,害羞草研究所� he said.
Gene Johnson, The Associated Press
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