IVC gymnasium to shelter migrants under quarantine
IMPERIAL – The gymnasium at Imperial Valley College is transitioning to its third purpose over the past year as it converts to a quarantine and isolation shelter (QIS).
Imperial County Intergovernmental Relations Director Rebecca Terrazas-Baxter said the QIS is intended to provide temporary shelter for migrants and/or asylum seekers released from federal detention who have tested positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 but do not have a safe space to isolate or quarantine.
The county is establishing the facility, which can house at least 80 people, in collaboration with IVC and the state of California. The gym, which most recently served as an alternative care site for recovering COVID patients, will reopen retooled for its new purpose today.
The county said it expects the gym to operate as a QIS for up to four weeks.
Terrazas-Baxter said the facility is independent of programs to assist farmworkers and the homeless.
“Individuals experiencing homelessness and are recovering from COVID-19 or have been exposed to COVID-19 or are at high risk for medical complications should they become infected will continue to be provided temporary shelter through Project Roomkey, if eligible and if needed,” she said.
Meanwhile, eligible farmworkers may still receive assistance through the Housing for Harvest program, she said.
The County of Imperial has 10 trailers for purposes of isolation and or quarantine through Project Roomkey, Terrazas-Baxter said. However, one of those is occupied by a family of three who was previously in federal custody and exposed to someone with COVID-19, she added.
“We were able to decompress over the weekend as partners in Riverside County picked up 11 of our COVID positives,” she said. “However, that is not something that is sustainable.”
Project Roomkey includes a hotel site for persons who are homeless and at high risk if they were to contract COVID. However, those rooms are not intended for quarantine or isolation.
Terrazas-Baxter said staffing for the QIS is being provided by a combination of entities, including staff or contractors from the California Department of Public Health and California Department of Social Services, non-profit organizations and coordination support from Imperial County.
She said any cost the county may incur is 100 percent reimbursable through state and federal emergency management agencies as it relates to the COVID-19 emergency and response.
The IVC gym operated as an alternate care site for recovering patients over two periods beginning May 26, 2020. During the first stretch, which lasted until Aug. 17, it housed a total of 213 patients. After it reopened on Nov. 23, it served 343 patients through Feb. 28.
Terrazas-Baxter said the Imperial County Public Health Department provided many of the wraparound services – such as janitorial and site security -- for the operation of the ACS. The California Emergency Medical Services Authority provided medical staffing, and the majority of equipment and supplies necessary to provide patient care.
“All costs incurred by the County of Imperial for the operation of the ACS are recoverable through state and federal disaster relief programs,” she said.