Utah allocated nearly $1.5 million for quarantine lodging and a hospital overflow site for coronavirus treatment but did not use the funds, a state official said.
The quarantine and hospital site contracts will expire at the end of May and June, respectively, KUER-FM reports.
The state spent more than $1.2 million on a contract to set up 250 sleeping cots and medical equipment at an exhibition center in Sandy to give hospitals a place to move noncritical patients if there was an overwhelming influx of COVID-19 cases.
The need has not arisen, Utah Commissioner of Public Safety Jess Anderson said.
The state also rented 60 hotel rooms through the end of May for $245,000, which were intended to shelter people experiencing homelessness or traveling through the state if they contracted the coronavirus.
Counties have created their own quarantine facilities to address those issues, Anderson said.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Anderson said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.