Washington state returning field hospital to FEMA

Washington will return a Seattle field hospital to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) so it can be deployed to another state with more significant coronavirus needs, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced Wednesday. 

Inslee warned, however, that returning the CenturyLink Field Event Center field hospital to the federal government does not mean that Washington is “out of the woods” in terms of dealing with its outbreak. 

“We have to keep our guard up and continue to stay home unless conducting essential activities to keep everyone healthy,” he said in a statement. 

“We haven’t beat this virus yet, and until we do, it has the potential to spread rapidly if we don’t continue the measures we’ve put in place,” he added. 

Inslee said the state requested resources for the field hospital at CenturyLink before social distancing strategies were fully implemented. 

Officials are continuing to strengthen resources throughout local hospitals, including purchasing 1,000 beds and more than 900 ventilators, he added. 

Last week, the state finalized a lease to use the former Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima to bolster surge capacity in central Washington. The medical center can support an additional 250 non-coronavirus patients if needed.

Washington was one of the first states to be hit by the coronavirus. It has seen 8,682 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 394 deaths, according to the latest data released by the state health department.