Like many Alabamians when I heard about the plan, or proposed plan, to move individuals with the coronavirus to Alabama I was torn.
The idea that we are transporting people to our state with a highly-infectious deadly disease is not something I want to do.
But after that initial gut-reaction, I came down on the side of helping these people by quarantining them at a government facility in Anniston. After all, we are Americans, they are Americans and we should help them out.
As Alabamians, we should want to show our southern hospitality and avoid a “NOT IN MY BACKYARD” response. These are not illegal immigrants being housed at Fort Rucker or refugees being housed in Mobile.
So I thought, “These are Americans who need our help and we have the facilities to house these people!”
But I was wrong.
The facility where these patients were going to be quarantined is not a medical facility — it’s actually a training facility.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness is a training center for police, fire and emergency medical workers from across the United States. They travel to Anniston, receive training and leave.
The coronavirus patients would have been housed in a barracks, not a medical facility.
In fact, there is no functioning medical facility on this site at all, as I thought it was.
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Saks) dropped a lot of knowledge while on WVNN this morning.
Rogers noted on “The Dale Jackson Show,” “The Center for Domestic Preparedness is a training facility for first responders, it is not equipped to deal with infectious disease control.”
He added, “[S]ome knucklehead thought the Center for Domestic Preparedness was a good option.”
I was wrong, as were a lot of people.
The lack of a medical facility is a big issue, not only because of the virus but because of the age and health of the individuals involved.
When Rogers was discussing the would-be patients, he said, “Most of these individuals are in their 70s. They’re going to have problems like heart conditions, they’re going to have diabetes, they’re going to have brittle bones.”
This process is not going to be a short one either. It could last up to three months and, according to Rogers, local hospitals made it clear they are not equipped for this.
My takeaway:
If there is a place in Alabama where these Americans can be held and treated if needed, we should do it, but the Center for Domestic Preparedness is not one of those sites. Our congressional delegation and Governor Kay Ivey did a good job of handling this issue for the state of Alabama.
Naysayers, and I was one, will use this to tar Alabama and its citizens, but if they are given all the information, they will have to come to the conclusion that moving these patients here is not in anyone’s best interest.
Listen:
Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.
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