Army Corps of Engineers "beginning to run out of time" to build medical facilities ahead of peak inf

[turbinetree]

Source: Military Times

Meghann Myers 10 minutes ago

With projections estimating that coronavirus cases in many cities will hit their apex this month, local and state governments are scrambling to build out facilities to take hospital overflow, with design and contracting help from the Army Corps of Engineers.

But with 17 projects on the books, the most recent of which won’t be ready to go until the last week of April, officials are cautioning some governments to think about whether it’s worth undertaking such construction if it won’t be ready until after their cases start to peter out.

“We’re beginning to run out of time,” Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the head of ACE, told reporters Wednesday. “I think that we will probably done starting new builds ― probably in a week.”

To date, the Javits center in New York City is finishing up construction and McCormick Place in Chicago is within a few days of wrapping up, but for hundreds of other proposed sites, it may take too long to get contracts drawn up and construction underway to make a difference for local hospitals.


Read more: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/04/08/army-corps-of-engineers-beginning-to-run-out-of-time-to-build-medical-facilities-ahead-of-peak-infections/

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Though it’s more complicated to build COVID-19 isolation facilities, health officials have to contend with the fact that the virus can pop up anywhere, so it’s best to have a facility dedicated to it. Meanwhile, hospitals taking in presumably non-COVID patients are also equipped to handle a patient who turns out to be sick.

Subsequent cities have followed suit with creating COVID-only facilities. like the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Gateway Shopping Convention Center and Music Center Center in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, and the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Currently, ACE is in the final contracting states with 23 more sites, with 22 more prospects and another 17 already underway, using their plans but executed by state and local government contracting.

[gibraltar72]

1. And we are losing front line workers

things are gonna get real bad real fast.

[Maribelle]

2. Too bad Trump didn't give the CoE their orders sooner.

Trump has blood on his hands.

[iluvtennis]

5. + agree. nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. It doesn't take engineers to assemble partitions inside an arena.

A couple of engineers could explain it to some motivated non-engineers. Even infantry could understand it, given time and patience and simple IKEA diagrams.

Engineers could lay out the grids, guide and monitor the progress. Then more areas could be converted quicker.

Don't tell TEB what I said about infantry

[Haggis for Breakfast]

6. I'm not saying anything to him.

But you are correct about motivated non-engineers. It would relieve the stress on the Army Corps.

Also, I don't believe that the facilities will be too little, too late. Even once we start to flatten the curve, there are going to be outbreak hot spots all over the place. Some of these MAGA idiots, who refuse to practice precautions, could keep COVID-19 around for quite a while.

[TomSlick]

7. The Chief of Engineers was on Rachel last night.

The Corps of Engineers is doing a damned sight more than hanging partitions. The most impressive bit is they are running plumbing for piping oxygen to patient areas - including ICUs. Plumbing oxygen lines is not DIY work.

As much as I admire your average infantryman, this is engineer work.

Essayons!

[link:|

[paleotn]

4. Because they started too late...

because we have an orange jackass in the White House who'd be a a half ass used car salesman if it weren't for dad's ill gotten gain.

[RussBLib]

8. I see Washington State is shutting one down

Even before it opened, so it could be moved to somewhere that truly needed it. That's a good thing, but I hope WA does not end up needing it, and Trump does not try to use that against the Dems.