Coronavirus Patient Shuffle In Costa Mesa After Restraining Order

COSTA MESA, CA —An influx of patients infected with the novel coronavirus quarantined on a cruise ship were blocked from Costa Mesa, Sunday, after the mayor halted the process with a well placed restraining order.

50 patients from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, who were transferred to Travis Air Force Base, were bound for a closing mental health hospital in Costa Mesa, until the mayor and council secured their borders by issuing a restraining order, Friday.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton granted the city's emergency restraining order request.

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What the locals know about the location chosen for the patients is vast by comparison to those who want patients sent there. The Fairview Developmental Center in the 2500 block of Harbor Blvd. has a history of treating mental health patients and is in the process of being closed by the state. Two patients remain at the Fairview facility on Monday. A handful of staff members still reside on the campus. But most importantly, local experts warn the virus could spread through the air vents at the almost vacant state-owned facility.

To Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley, the patient relocation plan was not explored properly, and the city attorney wrote as much in their restraining order request.

Orange County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick says she hopes that all parties involved will engage in "a more thoughtful and robust collaboration" at the state and federal level to ensure the health and safety of Orange County residents is protected, and that "the next steps are communicated to the public."

Supervisor Donald P. Wagner is working with local officials to prevent what is happening in China from mushrooming in Orange County, his office has reported.

"I applaud the County, my colleagues and the City of Costa Mesa for trying to block the use of local facilities to house infected individuals. While we want to treat those infected humanely, we must also protect the public's health," Wagner said. "It does no good to spread this contagious virus around in uninfected locales; we must act intelligently to prevent a senseless outbreak locally."

Costa Mesa's restraining order had a few demands to the powers who would ship infected people into town:

• An adequate site survey, as the designated site has been determined suitable for this purpose
• All necessary safeguards and precautions put into place before their arrival.
• A proper relay of information on efforts made to mitigate the risk of disease spread within Costa Mesa.

Federal authorities had informed the city that the patients could be transferred as early as Sunday, according to the city's court documents. Foley said the city sought the restraining order "to halt any further action until we can learn what the plan is."

She wants to know how the patients and their care will impact Costa Mesa, she wrote. Her primary goal is to protect the safety and security of Costa Mesa's residents, she says.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not be reached for comment. Of the virus, the CDC's website says:

"Imported cases of COVID-19 in travelers have been detected in the U.S. Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 also has been seen among close contacts of returned travelers from Wuhan, but at this time, this virus is NOT currently spreading in the community in the United States."

"Public health experts at all levels of federal and state governments need to spend their time and efforts addressing the COVID-19 outbreak and protecting the health and safety of our communities. ... Plaintiffs' efforts have only increased the likelihood of the threats to public health that they seek to avoid."

City officials said they suspected some of the patients being considered for transfer were passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was under an on-board quarantine in Japan.

CDC officials have said some of those passengers were taken to Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento, and an unknown number had tested positive for the virus that has killed more than 2,300 people.

Foley called the threat of coronavirus patients coming to her city "surreal.

"It's right out of a movie," she wrote in a letter to constituents late Saturday. "Some even believed it was a hoax at first. Sadly, it's not. Who would believe that a federal agency could decide to transfer persons infected with the contagious coronavirus into Costa Mesa, right in the heart of our residential densely populated community?

"The federal and state agencies began preparing to house patients fairly secretly and without any meaningful consultation with our city or county teams. (We) assure you that we will fight with all of our might to protect the safety and security of Costa Mesa and the Orange County region at large."

According to supervisor Wagner, the smart move is to "stop a crisis from starting."

He promises to do all in his power to protect the physical and economic health of Orange County, under his watch.

"It is imperative to take an aggressive approach," Wagner said. "Alongside my colleagues at the Board, I will get in front of this issue for the good of the people we are privileged to represent."