Opening Of Coronavirus Alternate Care Facilities In Colorado Delayed
DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Emergency Operations Center announced alternate care sites in response to the coronavirus pandemic will be delayed in opening. Those sites are being constructed at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver and The Ranch in Loveland.
EOC officials expect that construction to be completed on April 29. However, the sites won't open until May 15 or three weeks after the stay-at-home orders are lifted.
"At this point, hospitals remain within their facility capacities to serve all patients. The medical shelters are not yet necessary for medical surge," the EOC stated in a news release on Monday.
As many as 600 beds will be available at the Colorado Convention Center. The EOC says The Ranch will have nearly 200 beds, down from around 400 previously reported.
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The Army Corps of Engineers began construction earlier this month to retro-fit the facilities to serve as Tier 3 medical shelters. Tier-3 care facilities will have resources and staff capable of caring for patients who are recovering from COVID-19 who no longer need a critical or acute level of care.