North Bend fire training facility designated as coronavirus quarantine site

NORTH BEND, Wash. -- Starting Thursday, Washington state will have a set location to handle travelers who have been placed under quarantine and can't quarantine themselves at home.

The state Department of Health coordinated with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use Washington State Patrol's fire training academy off I-90 in North Bend.

Sea-Tac Airport passengers who spent time in the Hubei province in China where the outbreak started will be placed under quarantine at the facility.

People who are quarantined likely would only be there a few days before being cleared. The volume of travelers from that region of China will be very low, officials said, so it's possible this facility in North Bend won't be used at all.

This publicly-owned facility in King County has individual bedrooms with private bathrooms.

More than 500 people have died of novel coronavirus, the vast majority of them in China. The risk for people in the United States is still low.