While uncertainty shrouds COVID-19 and the world’s future, reports coming out from other countries shine a light on the few solid facts officials do know; that an immediate and efficient response to the virus saves lives. In order to combat potentially overfilled hospitals in the near future, Sonoma County has decided to make Sonoma State University an alternate care site.

An alternate care site, ACS, is typically a non-traditional site, in this case, a college campus, where patients with COVID-19 can receive medical care and treatment. There are two types of ACS, general care and acute care.

Acute care is when patients with severe cases of COVID-19 need emergency and life-saving treatment.

Sonoma State, as of Friday, April 17, will only be providing general care, which means only patients who have low to moderate level COVID-19 cases will be treated on campus. Seawolves can expect the arrival of these patients during the last weeks of April.

Sonoma State’s Provost, Lisa Vollendorf, commended Sonoma State’s efforts: “We have an incredible team of people working in our Emergency Operations Center and helping to lead our campus through this challenging time. I am very proud of everyone at Sonoma State for helping us help our entire community remain healthy and safe to the best of our ability while we continue to deliver remote instruction to our students.”

The California National Guard has been helping ready Sonoma State and transform it into a functioning ACS, since officials have estimated Sonoma County’s COVID-19 cases to peak in late May and early June.

The Sonoma State Recreation Center will house those who are COVID-19 positive but only suffer mild to moderate symptoms. Verdot Village, Sauvignon Village, and The Cooperage will all be used to quarantine and house those at risk and those waiting for test results. Those who possibly have COVID-19 will be separated and quarantined from others.

These buildings have been thoroughly cleaned, and will once again be cleaned before students are allowed to move back into the dorm rooms. Those being held in the ACS will be quarantined away from the roughly 157 students who still remain on campus to ensure the virus is not spread.

Sonoma State may also be receiving up to $5 million from Sonoma County for helping during the crisis. This total amounts to approximately $10,000 per bed, and while financially beneficial to the university, it has students asking questions about the future of the school.

As reported by The Los Angeles Times, there are more than 28,000 confirmed cases in California, including at least 1,000 deaths, and both numbers are still rising. Sonoma State students must continue to be informed.

According to Provost Vollendorf, a great way students can help during this pandemic is by “abiding by all public health orders, including the strict shelter-in-place orders in place in many counties across the state. We all have the opportunity to protect public health by practicing social distancing, staying at home as much as possible, and wearing cloth masks when we go out for essential activities.”