ELLENTON – Residents of Manatee County who test positive for COVID-19, may soon be eligible for a free hotel room if they can’t self-isolate at home. At Wednesday Manatee County Commissioners meeting, County Administrator Cheri Coryea laid out the counties strategies to fully reopen.
“We’re still tracking those benchmarks, we’re watching the hospitals capacity and potential for a surge,” said Coryea. “And here are two important things; one we have established our non-congregate care site.”
But that doesn’t mean just anyone who tests positive qualifies. Coryea says the Super 8 motel on 17th St. E in Ellenton is the site where those who are discharged from the hospital still battling the virus can self-isolate.
“If they have people with vulnerable conditions, if it’s a bad environment for them,” said Coryea “We have that in place.”
The Department of Health Manatee County will determine who qualifies for rooms. And Hospitals will be able to contact health officials to get approval for a patient who is still positive but no longer requires hospital care. That would include the homeless among many others.
“To be able to contain people in a safe environment, so that they can go ahead and recover and have the safe and quite space they need,” said Laura Licoski, Facing Homelessness Bradenton.
The county has agreed to pay $100 per night for the rooms, with funding received under the federal CARES Act.
The hospitals will offer direct transportation to their rooms and even deliver food to the patients. And business won’t be as usual at the Super 8, visitors are not allowed and housekeeping won’t be cleaning up for remainder of the guest stays.
For now this motel is the only one the county has been able to reach an agreement. The county will look to sign a contract with another hotel or motel should the need arise.
In order to qualify as a non-congregate shelter, a hotel or motel can’t be in an evacuation zone and must have air-conditioning, a telephone, a refrigerator and a microwave in each room.