State Continues to Evaluate Sites for Temporary Hospitals

ST. PAUL -- The state is continuing to evaluate locations around Minnesota that could be used as makeshift hospitals if need be.

Joe Kelly is the Homeland Security Management Director. He says they've assessed five sites so far and have confirmed three of those. He says they are looking at two more locations Monday.

Their immediate goal is to identify space for 2,750 beds -- 1,000 in the metro and 1,750 in greater Minnesota -- and that's on top of the additional capacity our hospitals are generating onsite.

Kelly says he's not ready to identify where these alternative care sites would be located.

These sites would be used for noncritical care patients who do not have COVID-19.