King County to move nearly 400 homeless from shelters to hotels

KING COUNTY, Wash. — To help reduce the density of homeless people staying in shelters and slow the spread of the coronavirus, King County announced Thursday that it will move nearly 400 people to hotels.

The county negotiated with three hotels that will serve as temporary shelters for those who are experiencing homelessness.

One hundred people will move to a hotel in Bellevue, 90 people will be moved to a hotel in SeaTac and 200 people will move to a hotel in Renton.

Officials with the county said this will allow those locations to stay open 24/7. Shelter operators will be onsite to provide oversight.

The hotels will not be isolation or quarantine facilities, officials said. The people moving to the hotels are presumed to be well.

The transition from the shelters is expected to happen early next week.

County officials said they are finalizing agreements with the hotels, which will not be open to other guests during the coronavirus emergency.

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