Washington state is returning a field hospital to the Federal Emergency Management Agency so it can be deployed to other areas more in need.
The state requested the U.S. Defense Department hospital before social-distancing measures were fully implemented, Gov. Jay Inslee said April 8. The hospital could have held about 250 beds for patients without the new coronavirus, according to The Register-Guard.
"Our community mitigation measures, combined with the amazing work of our hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the region, as well as our procurement of various hospital supplies, leads us to believe that at this point, our hospitals should have enough capacity to support a surge in patients," the governor said.
The state is continuing to bolster its healthcare system, however, and has purchased equipment to support hospitals if state gets a surge in COVID-19 cases. The state has purchased 1,000 hospital beds and more than 900 ventilators, and it has finalized a lease to use the formerly closed Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima, Wash., if needed.