California City Gets 7-Day Reprieve in Coronavirus Standoff
California City Gets 7-Day Reprieve in Coronavirus Standoff
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government can’t relocate as many as 50 people diagnosed with the Coronovirus to southern California for at least another week.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton in Santa Ana on Monday extended a temporary restraining order blocking the planned move, after issuing an earlier order on Friday at the request of the City of Costa Mesa. Staton also ordered the federal government to share information with local officials ahead of a hearing on March 2.
In a filing earlier Monday, the city claimed that the Trump administration was using the coronavirus crisis as a “political weapon” because the president canceled plans to send patients to a “uniquely qualified” facility in Alabama and promised to protect residents of that firmly Republican state.
“In the absence of any meaningful communication from the federal government, plaintiffs and the people of Costa Mesa and Orange County are left wondering why their community was chosen and why Alabama was spared,” the city said. “Why are secure federal facilities and specialized medical facilities inappropriate, but a rundown former home for people with developmental disabilities is perfectly situated to contain a dangerous and deadly disease?”
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment made after regular business hours.
To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.