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Washington getting 8 field hospitals to help with coronavirus fight

A Department of Health spokesperson said one field hospital will be located at CenturyLink Field and another in Yakima. The other locations are currently unknown.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) said it expects eight field hospitals to be set up around the state to help local hospitals handle the growing number of coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

DOH spokesperson Danielle Koenig said they expect two, 150-bed hospitals and six, 40-bed hospitals from the Department of Defense.

The locations of all the field hospitals could not be confirmed. However, Koenig said, “one will go into CenturyLink and another in Yakima.”

The Office of Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan confirmed Friday that CenturyLink Field Event Center would be the site for one field hospital. The Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup was also being considered.

RELATED: Army constructing field hospital at CenturyLink Field Event Center

Military officials hope the 148-bed field hospital at CenturyLink Field Event Center will free up beds at area hospitals, but they are not planning to treat coronavirus patients at the event center. The field hospital will be for non-coronavirus patients who need medical treatment, such as car crash victims or people who break a bone. Crews began construction on the field hospital Sunday.

"We need additional hospital beds, additional ICU beds, and additional ventilators across the state of Washington. We know, unfortunately, that this epidemic is going to the furthest corners of the state of Washington," Gov. Jay Inslee said during a press conference Saturday.

Puyallup and Snohomish County have been scouted, but no other location confirmed. Modulars in White Center will open in early April. 

RELATED: Seattle releases small business map to spur sales during state mandated shutdown

Koenig said the state offers quarantine facilities at Maple Lanes, which is a Department of Corrections property in Thurston County.  The Maple Lanes RV site replaced the RVs that had been at the Shoreline public health lab. The quarantine site at Shoreline still exists, but the RVs are no longer on the property.

Coronavirus | Facts not Fear

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