More than a dozen COVID-19 patients check into Hillsborough coronavirus hotel
TAMPA, Fla. - It's now been two weeks since Hillsborough County leased out to Tampa hotels to be used for quarantine and isolation for guests who may have been exposed to COVID-19, but don't have a safe place to stay.
The county said these hotels are definitely serving their purpose. Some people who checked in here two weeks ago have successfully recovered and have checked out, but the county is ready to take in more people as they come.
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The two hotels are the Quality Inn and The West Wing Hotel on Fowler Avenue. Since opening, a total of 20 people have checked in. Thirteen people are in isolation at Quality Inn and three are in quarantine at The West Wing Hotel. Four people have successfully recovered and checked out.
"The sooner we can get people out that and back to their homes the better it is,” explained Tampa Fire Rescue Operations Section Chief Iñaki Rezola said. “Frankly, we don't want people coming to the quarantine isolation site. if they can do this at home, that's the best thing we can do for them.”
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More than 360 rooms are available between both hotels. The county said they will expand to additional hotels if necessary.
Right now, the county is under a six-month lease, but able to go month-to-month. The county said they don't plan on shutting them down anytime soon.
If you feel sick:
The Florida Department of Health has opened a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions around the clock. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.
LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website
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