Sixty beds for coronavirus isolation and quarantine could cost Whatcom $4 million
It could cost from $900,000 up to $4 million to quarantine or isolate people who have COVID-19 for three months, the Whatcom County Council learned on Friday, April 3.
Erika Lautenbach, director for the Whatcom County Health Department, said the costs were ballpark figures.
She said a facility was expected to be up and running in the next few days. No additional details were immediately available about the facility.
Lautenbach provided rough estimates for 60 beds for three months, with a range of costs that depend on what services were needed by people who were in quarantine or isolation.
Isolation would be for people who have symptoms of the respiratory disease but don’t need hospitalization. Quarantine would be for people who have been exposed to COVID-19, but aren’t showing symptoms.
It was unclear Friday whether a facility would be strictly for homeless people, or for anyone who was experiencing symptoms or who came into contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
A previous Bellingham Herald article indicated that Whatcom Unified Command was working to identify at least one place where those who are homeless can be quarantined or isolated during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Whatcom Unified Command is the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response. It also is working to find isolation and quarantine sites outside of Bellingham, although how many hasn’t been finalized.
The range of costs depends on the care needed, according to Lautenbach. The more care required, the higher the price tag.
“The reality is, it’s very very expensive,” she said, adding the cost also includes the $400,000 needed to clean and sanitize rooms for three months because a team will need to specialize in cleaning the rooms and use special products and gear to do so.
Rough cost estimates for 60 beds for three months are:
▪ $900,000, at the lowest level, essentially giving people a place to live but no services such as case management, chemical dependency or nursing.
▪ $1.2 million would include care provided by community partners for needs that include case management and keeping an eye on people staying there. This seemed to be the level being considered.
▪ $2 million would include nursing support.
▪ $4 million would be for more medical care, including ventilators and constant staffing and support.
Coronavirus fund revisited
On Friday, the Whatcom County Council again voted to create an emergency fund for its COVID-19 response and to shift money into it from its EDI Fund.
It had previously voted to do so on Tuesday but had to vote again on Friday because of what council chair Barry Buchanan called a procedural mishap.
On Friday, members decided once again to seed the fund with $250,000 approved by the County Council and a $1 million loan from the county Public Utilities Improvement Fund, also referred to as the EDI Fund. This time around, they added $500,0000 promised by the city of Bellingham.
County budget officials said they expected to pay back that loan with funding assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that, they said on Friday, would allow them to eventually recoup as much as 100% of the costs for responding to COVID-19 and its impact on Whatcom County.
