SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward is speaking out about the four coronavirus patients who arrived in Spokane Thursday afternoon.
Woodward said since the virus first came to the U.S., city leaders figured it was only a matter of time before Spokane’s specialized treatment center would be of use. She said they got the call on Wednesday.
"They didn't give us very many details at all, just that they would be arriving within 48 hours. And we knew that Sacred Heart was equipped for patients like that with their isolation unit and infectious disease specialists there, and that they had been training for four years since the Ebola outbreak in 2014," Woodward said.
She said her administration isn't directly involved much with this process. However, they're tracking updates and have faith that folks really don't have much to worry about.
"We have full trust in what Sacred Heart can do, and it really tells or talks to what kind of health care we have in this city and how fortunate we are, not just to treat people locally and regionally but on a national scale," Woodward said.
The mayor said she's glad Spokane can do its part to safely treat these patients.
Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz said the patients were transported to the Spokane International Airport from Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, California.
One pair arrived before noon, while the others arrived shortly before 4 p.m.
An ambulance then transported the patients to Sacred Heart Medical Center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 180 people at Travis Air Force Base were medically cleared to leave the base on Tuesday. Two other groups were expected to be cleared later this week.
Two of the patients who have arrived at the hospital are in stable condition, health officials said. The conditions of the other two haven't been released. It is unknown if any of the patients contracted the virus in China or the United States.
See all of the latest coverage of the coronavirus patients in Spokane in our YouTube playlist: