Trailers with small rooms are being transported and hooked up to utilities at 206 112th SW near Top Hat as one of several quarantine facilities being established by King County for coronavirus patients. That process will take at least another two weeks according to the County.
photo by Patrick Robinson
Following a community conference call on King County's decision to site a quarantine site for coronavirus patients in Top Hat near White Center, Calli Knight, Deputy Director of External Relations for King County Executive Dow Constantine offered an update. They note that the facility will not be operational for the next two weeks as they prepare the site. They also offered more information via two documents you can download here.
Knight said via email:
"I’ve confirmed with Facilities Management and Public Health that no one will occupy the site for at least the next two weeks.Your engagement is helping us to answer community questions between now and when the site will be operational and fully hooked up to the necessary utilities, and to do the necessary work of engaging residents and stakeholders of the purpose of these facilities and how to stay safe as King County communities navigate this unprecedented public health emergency. While residents may see Facilities Management staff at the site working on utility hook-up, no one will be occupying the facilities. We are committed to giving as much advance notice as possible when the facility becomes fully operational (meaning when an individual or individuals actually utilize the facility to get well).
Additionally, my team is working on confirming that medical staff will be on-site once the facility becomes operational.
Given the new timeline, and the new resources totaling $1 million dollars for outreach to high-risk individuals and communities impacted by the siting of isolation and quarantine facilities made available to our office from the King County Council, we are committed to partnering with community organizations and key stakeholders to provide robust language access services, and direct resources to community-based organizations in White Center. We will also continue to work through how best to support impacted businesses in White Center, Kent, and near the two facilities in the City of Seattle."
I live two blocks away and nobody asked me about what I thought about it. I don't want people running around my neighborhood they're already infected.