NORTH BEND, Wash. — Travelers from the Hubei province in China who’ve been quarantined but can’t do it at home will now have a place to go: The Washington State Patrol’s fire training academy in North Bend.
U.S. citizens without symptoms of a coronavirus infection who have been in the province in the last 14 days will be placed under quarantine with daily monitoring until their 15th day of having left the province.
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“This may to be the final destination for them, this may not be their home, they may not have a place to quarantine. And that’s why this facility is being provided,” said Chris Loftis, a spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol. “So you’re talking about a sliver of a sliver of a sliver of folks,” Loftis said.
The Washington State Department of Health said home quarantine is the first choice, but if a traveler needs quarantine and can’t do it at home, they can stay at the North Bend facility, which has individual bedrooms with private bathrooms.
“The actions here we are taking are a precaution. There is a very good chance that this will not be needed at all, but we would be remiss if we weren’t ready for anything that might be coming our way,” Loftis said.
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“For most travelers, we expect this quarantine will last just a few days as transportation services out of Hubei were discontinued about 10 days ago,” the state health department said Tuesday. Because the number of travelers from Hubei Province to the US is very low, it’s possible the facility will never be used for quarantine purposes.
Washington State Patrol just started discussing why the remote Fire Training Academy in North Bend is being made available as a quarantine site for people possibly exposed to #coronavirus.
— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) February 6, 2020
“We would be remiss if we weren’t prepared,” WSP said. #KIRO7 pic.twitter.com/VzbfTNnliP
On Jan. 21, a Snohomish County man was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the U.S. He had recently returned from the Hubei Province, where an outbreak has been ongoing since December.
So far, that man is the only person in Washington State who has tested positive. Eighteen people have tested negative and three others have results pending, state health officials said.
There are also 17 people who have been in close contact with someone with coronavirus who are being monitored.
State and local health officials have also activated the Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray to respond to coronavirus concerns in Washington.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is one of 20 in the US that has health screenings for coronavirus.
>> See a map of U.S. quarantine stations
All passengers arriving from China will be asked an additional set of screening questions as they get off the plane, and could be pulled aside for additional screening.
On Jan. 20, the World Health Organization declared “a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak.”
As of Thursday evening, the death toll from the virus rose to at least 634, and the total number of cases to at least 30,723, CBS News reported.
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