Over the course of the month of December, 35 staff and residents of the Renton deintensification hotel tested positive for COVID-19. Guests testing positive or directly exposed to individuals who tested positive were immediately transported to one of the County’s three Isolation and Quarantine locations. There has been routine testing at the site since those cases and there has not been a positive COVID-19 test of a guest at the Renton Red Lion since December 28.
Sadly, one of the guests living at the Renton hotel passed away. According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, a post-mortem COVID-19 test indicates that the person was positive for COVID-19.
The Renton Red Lion shelter has free COVID-19 testing available for any resident five days a week thanks to a partnership with Seattle Flu Study, which assisted the County in identifying cases quickly and comprehensively.
Since identifying the outbreak, King County worked closely with staff of the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), the shelter operators, to implement changes to reduce further spread. These included closing down all areas where people could congregate (such as the lobby), delivering all meals to residents’ rooms, increasing cleaning of all high-touch surfaces, and requiring masks and goggles or a face shield for all staff.
DESC and County staff are continuing to closely monitor the health and safety of the guests and staff of the Red Lion facility.
