A new quarantine center will open in the San Gabriel Valley for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and for those who are showing symptoms and awaiting test results, Supervisor Hilda Solis said at an afternoon press conference.
The center will be at the Sheraton Fairplex hotel in Pomona and will provide temporary housing through 244 single-occupancy rooms for those who need to isolate, Solis said. The rooms will be filled on a first come, first serve basis and essential services will be provided.
L.A. County’s lease of the hotel runs from March 23 to May 31, with the option to extend. The hotel will be closed to the public during that time.
Child care will be provided at the hotel for the children of first responders, according to Miguel Santana, president of the Los Angeles County Fair Association.
The parking lot will have a drive-thru food bank for those in need, Santana said.
“When this is over, and it will be over… we will be defined by how quickly, how sincerely and how kindly we responded,” Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval said. “We are here to serve.”
Sandoval said the initiative was the result of a grassroots effort led by the community.
The briefing comes after L.A. County, followed by the entire state, issued a public order Thursday asking residents to stay at home and for most businesses to close.
In the nation’s most populous state, 40 million residents are required to avoid leaving their homes except for essentials such as food, health care or commuting to jobs deemed crucial.
Officials announced 61 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 292 patients in the county, with two deaths as of Thursday. Twelve of the new cases are in Long Beach and two are in Pasadena.
Of all those who tested positive, 48 are hospitalized, including three of the new cases.
There were 101 new cases in 48 hours, according to L.A. County Department of Public Health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.
“The risk is spread across everybody who lives here in L.A. County… ” Ferrer said. “Younger people, while they may have a better outcome if they’re healthy, are in fact one of the largest groups of people that we have tested who are positive for COVID-19.”
Of the 2,400 people in the county who have been tested, 10% were positive for coronavirus, she said.
“We must be prepared for many, many new cases,” Ferrer said.
The median age for all cases in L.A. County is now 47, according to Ferrer. Of the 292 patients, 138 are between the ages of 18 to 65, she said.
Throughout California, there are 1,063 confirmed cases and 21 deaths.
There were 15,219 confirmed cases in the country and 201 deaths as of noon Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
