Youth Fair ‘field hospital’ goes up with 250 cots for non COVID19 (?) patients

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez took a tour Tuesday of the “field hospital” facility built on the grounds of the Dade County Youth Fair with 250 cots, not beds, and giant, trailer-like port-a-potties with showers in them for when a patient has to go.

This hospital is reportedly to be used for non COVID19 patients. But it sure looks like what Gov. Ron DeSantis had in mind when he talked about “isolation centers” which is code for containment camps. If you were to dream up a containment camp, this would be what it looked like, according to the amazingly stark, haunting and yet breathtaking photos made available by the county, credit Armando Rodriguez, who has one hell of an eye. Gallery below.

The mayor’s office — and while we’re at it, hats off to them, too, working their asses off — assured Ladra that the facility is intended for the overflow of non-COVID patients in case (read: when) local hospitals get overwhelmed with COVID19 patients. According to the Florida Department of Health, the number of positives in Miami-Dade went up to 2,123 by Tuesday evening. It was 1,701 24 hours earlier.

The new figure amounts to one third of Florida’s positive coronavirus cases.

“Those patients would need to stay in the regular hospital and other patients would be triaged to the field hospital, when possible,” said Patricia Abril, a spokeswoman for the mayor. “We hope it won’t ever come to this.”

But they are preparing for worse. Por si las moscas, the county already has capacity for another 250 cots in 72 hours. “They can expand in units of 250 up to 2,000 beds,” Abril said.

So far, there’s no real handle on the costs. The county Emergency Operation Center has asked for help from the state and certainly it may be among the things that the federal government can reimburse. But that’s not important now, as at least 142 people are hospitalized with coronavirus already. We’ll see what it cost and who got the contracts later.

Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz and Joe Martinez want the site to have a testing facility for the people of West Dade in their districts. They are apparently being met with resistance from the mayor, which is why they issued press releases of their own. Martinez called it a “perfect location for West Miami-Dade residents, particularly in District 11.

“They have already mapped out the area and would be able to stack cars in a line for a mile, if not more, without encumbering the service streets that surround them,” Martinez said, although traffic is the least of our worries these days.

“There are two gates that would be available for ingress and egress. The opening of this site would alleviate the backlog of requests and assist a huge segment of our community that is currently underserved. This site would not affect the field hospital that was constructed as it is not near the testing site,” Martinez said, adding that none of the four testing sites around the county are near the residents in his district.

“It is difficult to understand why we cannot get the relief that is needed in West Miami-Dade County to help alleviate the hardship for many residents who wish to get tested, as well as getting to the testing sites that are in place now. We need a testing site to be accessible to the residents in District 11,” Martinez said. “A testing site at the Youth Fairgrounds would not only benefit West Dade but also Westchester, Sweetwater, Doral and a large part of unincorporated Miami-Dade.”

And like clockwork, another one of those districts’ commissioner chimed in..

“As one of the Commissioners whose district directly abuts Commissioner Martinez’s district, I believe that a testing site in the West Dade area is essential for Miami-Dade County,” Commissioner Diaz said in a statement Tuesday. “A test site in this location would not only serve the constituents of District 11 but also those who live in Districts 12, 10 and 6.

“Currently the residents who live in Sweetwater and the unincorporated Dade area, most of whom are elderly, are at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to getting tested,” Diaz said. “A testing site located at the fairgrounds provides a central location for West Dade and would provide much needed relief to the area.”

There is a reportedly a rapid test kit that can give you the results in 20 minutes, but nobody wants to talk about that. They will. And when they have a rapid results test, Ladra predicts it will be used at this site and the “field hospital” could be converted to a “containment facility” because it just makes sense, for when people test positive.

Do not pass go. Do not go home. Go directly to cot #217.