County fairgrounds being transformed into makeshift medical ward to treat COVID-19 patients
ANTIOCH — Exhibit halls that usually house Contra Costa County Fair agricultural, home goods and fine arts displays will soon be equipped with beds and medical equipment in case they are needed to treat COVID-19 patients.
The Contra Costa Event Center is now making room for an undisclosed number of beds along with medical supplies that the county emergency operations center is bringing in, Contra Costa County officials said on Thursday.
The Antioch site, which includes three 8,000-square-foot exhibit halls, will be ready to take patients if needed by the third week of April, when health experts predict the number of coronavirus cases will be at their peak, officials said.
When or whether the site opens, however, will depend on if area hospitals reach capacity because of a COVID-19 patient surge, they noted.
“There isn’t a date that any alternative site will open,” Karl Fischer of Contra Costa Health Services said. “They will open as they are needed.”
Two weeks earlier the annual Contra Costa County Fair, set for May 14–17, was canceled at the 80-acre site. Contra Costa County Event Park CEO Joe Brengle said that happened as a result of the county’s requirement to reduce public gatherings to groups no larger than 10.
“With our dates (in May) we had no choice but to cancel,” he said.
County and city officials meanwhile applauded the move to prepare for alternative medical sites, including the 45,000-square-foot Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, which is now being transformed into a medical ward.
The county will manage the care while the federal government will provide the equipment at the alternate sites, according to a Contra Costa Health Services statement.
The county may also establish other alternate care sites, though the former Los Medanos Community Hospital building in Pittsburg once considered as an alternate is not currently on the list, Fischer said.
Meanwhile, hotels could be used for homeless residents, according to a Contra Costa Health Services statement.
Check back for details.