With COVID-19 case counts rising throughout the region, King County is preparing to re-open the Kent Isolation and Quarantine Facility located on Central Avenue in Kent on Nov. 30. The Kent facility has been temporarily deactivated since earlier this summer.
The I/Q facilities currently open in Issaquah and Aurora (Seattle) are still accepting admissions, but are serving more guests than normal. Current guests include individuals and several families. With the addition of the Kent hotel, total room availability will increase to 200. King County is opening the Kent Facility to be ready as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the County.
Most people will isolate and recover in their own homes. King County created the I/Q facilities to offer a safe place for people to rest and recover who cannot safely do so in their own home, perhaps due to the fragility of the health of a family member, and for people who do not have a home. The goals are twofold: to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by isolating people who have been directly exposed to the disease or have a positive test result away from others to prevent additional infection; and to preserve hospital beds for those who are most acutely ill. All I/Q facilities have 24/7 health and behavioral health care onsite, and meals and other basic needs are met. Transportation to and from all facilities is provided. This video provides more information about what a person can expect while staying at a King County I/Q facility.
Staffing for the 83-bed Kent facility is being gathered now for the Monday re-opening. More information on isolation and quarantine (in multiple languages) is available here. All assignments to isolation and quarantine sites are coordinated through the King County COVID hotline at (206) 477-3977 from 8 AM – 10 PM daily.
As the numbers continue to rise, all County residents are urged to follow established guidelines for reducing the spread of COVID-19, for your safety and the safety of others: wear a mask – wash your hands – avoid group gatherings – maintain social distance from others.
King County is grateful to the cities of Issaquah, Seattle and Kent for their partnership in the operation of these critical COVID-response facilities serving the residents of the county. 1,733 people have now stayed in County I/Q facilities since March, in each case sleeping while infectious or potentially infectious in a safe room instead of in a home with a vulnerable loved one or in a congregate facility like a shelter.
