Here’s Details on “Quarantine Camps”–How Does COVID Come Into Play?

When it comes to the government it can be mind-numbing to figure out what they are doing.

QUARATINE CAMPS REAL--JOBS BEING ADVERTISED

Quarantine against dangerous communicable diseases is nothing new in the U.S. or WA state. It's been used for years against a variety of ailments. However, this is where it gets interesting.

Although quarantine has been used before, it's been sparingly and most of the population has not been aware of it. But with COVID-19 and its variants, it's come into the spotlight.

THERE ARE NUMEROUS FACILITIES IN WA STATE FOR COVID QUARANTINE

There are at least two in King County, and one in Lewis County, WA.  According to the Department of Health, by way of a now-closed job opening for the state camp in Lewis County:

"The state Isolation and Quarantine facility was created for individuals who are not Washington residents but are traveling in our state and test positive for COVID-19 or who have been exposed to someone who tests positive and do not have a residence or other location in which to spend their 10-14 day isolation or quarantine period."

 WHAT HAS CITIZENS WORRIED ABOUT THEM?

What has people concerned is the proposal by the Board of Health to include COVID-19 (and presumably variants) in its list of serious diseases that could result in potential involuntary quarantine. That was discussed at the Board of Health meeting Wednesday, January 12th.

 According to the Department of Health, the much-discussed WAC (Washington Administrative Code) 246-100-040 and its subsections, a health officer has the authority to request the use of local law officers to enforce quarantine if the subject or subjects refuse to do so themselves.

 However, as pointed out by Washington State House Rep Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen) these WAC's are NOT law, they are not part of the RCW or Revised Code of Washington; and no legally elected law enforcement officer (Sheriff) is obligated or required to enforce them.

These camps were the subject of controversy shortly after COVID began, and the DOH issued statements refuting "misinformation" about their purpose and use.

Currently, as of 22 days ago, Indeed.com showed a posting for an Isolation/Quarantine Site Manager in King County.  It specifically mentions a site in Kent, and "others" in King County.  The jobs are described as Term Limited Temporary or (TLT).

As we mentioned earlier, according to the DOH Lewis County camp job posting, the camps are intended for persons who are not residents of WA or do not have any place where they can quarantine if diagnosed with COVID or a variant.

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Perhaps what has people alarmed, and we hear this from citizens, is 'where was all this emphasis, quarantine ideas, etc. in the past.?'   Couple that with a general growing mistrust of government officials and policies, and you have a hyper-sensitive portion of the population who fear abuse of the system.

Given the severity with which state officials and agencies have dealt with mandates, lockdowns, and policies during COVID, people fear that 'zeal' will spill over to quarantine-related policies.

So the quarantine 'camps' are here, they have been around since the beginning stage of COVID, but the role they play in the future will be watched closely by increasing numbers of citizens.