EVERETT, Wash. — Work is almost finished on Snohomish County's first official coronavirus isolation site at the Angel of the Winds Arena.
According to health workers, the number of people initially housed will actually be quite small.
Only half a dozen patients are expected on the first day, but should the coronavirus crisis keep getting worse in the North Sound, the arena will be capable of handling more than 100 patients.
Starting April 1, people with COVID-19, those suspected to have it, will be required to stay at the arena for up to two weeks, if they can't stay at home.
Making it all possible was a $1.3 million grant from the state.
“There will be a physician on site, nurses, medical assistants to make sure they'll get checked,” said Jason Biermann, director of Snohomish County Emergency Management.
A day before it opens to patients, KIRO 7 News got a firsthand look inside the arena this afternoon.
Already, medical supplies and boxes of clothing lined the hallways.
“Obviously, what we're trying to do is make sure (patients) are not in direct contact with folks, so a tarp provides a barrier between patient stations,” Biermann told KIRO 7.
Going forward workers have set up two different sites inside the arena.
One is for those who have already been diagnosed with coronavirus, while the other is for those in isolation waiting for test results.