Washington residents furious over coronavirus motel quarantine plans

The 85-bed motel would be used to house infected patients who don't require hospitalizations

(EPA)

Seattle’s plan for a coronavirus quarantine facility has sparked outrage among members of the community where the building is located.

Some residents of Kent, Washington - a suburb near the motel being eyed - are upset that King County officials are planning to buy and renovate an Econo Lodge and turn it into a quarantine facility for people infected with coronavirus.

The first - and so far, majority of - cases of coronavirus in the US have been reported in Washington.

According to Bloomberg, the 85-bedroom motel would house virus patients who were not ill enough to warrant hospital stays, but who still required isolation from healthy populations. It would also allow hospital beds to stay open for patients in dire health in need of hospitalisation.

Dana Ralph, the mayor of Kent, said she understood the need for housing but wasn’t happy her community wasn’t considered during the planning of the motel program.

“We’re one of the largest cities in the county, and we know we have a role to play in preventing the spread of the virus,” Ms Ralph said. “But we were not included in the conversation or decision making.”

King County planned to spend $4 million to purchase the motel and another $1.5 million in emergency funds to renovate it and hire the 11 existing employees to staff the facility. Officials said the building could house patients within two weeks.

Workers at the motel were angry and confused, unsure as to whether they’d have a job or not in coming weeks and frustrated that they’d have to pick between keeping a job or working around people infected with coronavirus.

The county officials said the motel was the only available property that met its requirements of separate heating and cooling systems in each room and doors that open to the outside rather than into a hallway.

One of the more prevalent complaints from those opposed to the plan is that a quarantine site would have never been considered in any of the wealthier communities throughout the county.

Rupali Handa, a resident of the town, said she was sympathetic but still didn’t want the facility near her home. She said she was “sorry for the people going through this” but that officials should put the infected “somewhere else.”

Battles like these could become more common as communities search for ways to contain coronavirus.

Last month, the Westerdam cruise ship was turned away from ports in several Asian countries over fears its passengers had coronavirus.