The afternoon of Wednesday, March 11 felt like any afternoon at Asilomar Conference Grounds: A couple of women walked their dogs on the boardwalk through the dunes, a man read a book in the sun, while in the main lodge a handful of guests checked in and a couple of young people hammered out some mediocre piano music on the shared piano.
That was until a couple checking in had questions about whether they could get a discount due to a coronavirus quarantine on the premises, and then a nearby resident demanded answers about potential coronavirus exposure from the clerk at the front desk.
One building at this state-owned facility is now housing 12 or 13 people who disembarked from the Grand Princess Cruise ship in Oakland Tuesday morning, after potentially being exposed to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
The people are remaining quarantined in their hotel rooms and not permitted to roam the Asilomar grounds; state officials may choose to utilize up to 24 beds here for former Grand Princess passengers, based on the available accommodations.
The news that the Governor's Office of Emergency Services would utilize Asilomar for quarantine was announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom during a press conference on March 10, a few hours before the first four people arrived. City and county officials didn't have much lead time to prepare, but in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, indicated that the state remains the lead agency and is responsible providing for medical care and security (to ensure guests abide by the quarantine).
"It's our responsibility to make sure this is as nondisruptive as can possibly be," said Pacific Grove City Manager Ben Harvey.
The patients have been screened, but have not yet been tested for COVID-19; Monterey County Health Officer Edward Moreno said he's offered up the county's public health lab in Salinas to process tests for these patients, but the state may choose to use another facility. The county lab can turn around test results within one business day, Moreno said.
The Asilomar group was deemed to be well enough that they did not require hospitalization, but was not well enough for quarantine at Travis Air Force Base, possibly due to unrelated medical conditions, such as broken bones or sprains, County Supervisor Mary Adams said.
One Pacific Grove block adjacent to Asilomar Conference Center—Crocker between Sunset and Sinex—is closed to through-traffic to accommodate emergency vehicles.
"These residents have endured a lot of stress in the last few days, and our top priority is to protect their health— and the public health of California—until they can return to their homes," California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Mark Ghaly said in a statement issued by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services. "We understand people across California are concerned about novel coronavirus, and that's why we're collaborating with our federal partners to ensure that the community surrounding Asilomar is not impacted."