ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A federal judge has granted a request by Costa Mesa for an emergency restraining order, blocking plans to transfer as many as 50 coronavirus patients from an Air Force base near Sacramento to the former Fairview Developmental Center as early as this weekend.

The court papers, filed Friday in federal court in Santa Ana, state the city was only informed of the proposed transfer Thursday night. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton granted the restraining order Friday blocking moving patients to the former developmental center until an "expedited hearing" on the matter could be held at 2 p.m. Monday.

The city is seeking to stop the patients from being moved to Costa Mesa until "an adequate site survey has been conducted, the designated site has been determined suitable for this purpose, all necessary safeguards and precautions have been put in place, and the public and local government have been informed of all efforts to mitigate risk of transmission of the disease." Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not be reached for comment.

The Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa has been used to treat patients with mental health issues, but is in the process of being closed by the state. According to the city's court documents, federal authorities informed the city that the patients could be transferred as early as Sunday.

"This was a bit of a blind side," Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley told City News Service.

Foley said the city "was surprised to learn yesterday (Thursday) around 5:20 p.m. that Fairview Developmental Center was being considered for use for 30 to 50 patients who have tested positive for coronavirus."

"We were not part of the process" of determining where to place the patients, Foley said. "We have been left in the dark as to all of this. It has been really through a great effort by our emergency response team and our community partners on state levels to even get this information." The city filed the application for a restraining order "to halt any further action until we can learn what is the plan, how it will impact our community, what will be the protocols put in place and how can we protect the safety and security of our residents," Foley said.