Alabama balks at housing patients with coronavirus

A federal plan to house cruise ship passengers who tested positive for the coronavirus at a facility in Alabama was met with a resounding no thanks by state officials who may have forced authorities to shelve the idea.

Globally, the death toll from the virus has surpassed 2,500 as of Monday. More than 79,000 people have been infected. The U.S. has 35 confirmed cases.

The plan called for the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston to be used as a coronavirus quarantine center for some American passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship stuck in Japan. Most of the evacuees involved are housed now at military bases in Texas, Colorado and California.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had said the center was selected because of its “unique facilities.” Only patients with minor symptoms, or none at all, would go to Anniston under the plan. Any evacuees who become seriously ill would be taken to “pre-identified” hospitals, HHS said.

The plan drew a quick and negative response from the mayor, the governor and multiple Alabama congressmen.

“The people of Alabama DO NOT want the coronavirus brought here,” Rep. Bradley Byrne said on Twitter. “I’m fighting to bring this to a full stop. Leave these people in the place they came to, don’t spread them around the US, and keep them OUT of Alabama. The risk is much too high.”

Rep. Mike Rogers said he had spoken with President Donald Trump, who Rogers said agreed that the HHS plan was the “wrong decision.”

Gov. Kay Ivey said Sunday that the HHS announcement was “inadvertently, and perhaps prematurely, sent.” She said she learned through a series of conference calls that Anniston was being considered only as a backup plan and that no decision had been made to send anyone to Anniston.

Ivey said her state wants to assist fellow Americans but cited “grave concerns” over how Anniston was chosen.

“First and foremost, my priority is to protect the people of Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement. “While locating these folks in Alabama is currently a backup plan, this is a serious issue and we need to be fully aware of the facts regarding the potential of housing them in Anniston.”

Worldwide, South Korea went on its highest alert Sunday, announcing a sixth coronavirus death and saying cases have surpassed 600. President Moon Jae-in raised the virus alert level to red, the highest in its four-tier system, for the first time in more than a decade. Schools that were supposed to open in a week will be delayed until March 9.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said the next seven or 10 days will be crucial in combating the virus. “The COVID-19 is spreading quickly,” Park said.