UC San Francisco sets up outdoor tents to prep for possible influx of coronavirus patients

UCSF Facilities Management engineers check the tarp of one of two mobile emergency rooms installed to treat patients triaged for the Coronavirus virus, outside the Emergency Department at the Parnassus Heights campus. less UCSF Facilities Management engineers check the tarp of one of two mobile emergency rooms installed to treat patients triaged for the Coronavirus virus, outside the Emergency Department at the Parnassus Heights ... more Photo: Susan Merrell / UCSF Photo: Susan Merrell / UCSF Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close UC San Francisco sets up outdoor tents to prep for possible influx of coronavirus patients 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

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UCSF Medical Center is among the hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area preparing for an influx of patients as the coronavirus spreads at the same time as flu season in California. The teaching and research hospital with several locations in San Francisco set up two outdoor tents over the weekend to care for patients with respiratory symptoms. (See photos of the tents in the gallery above.)

"The tents will be used for triage to make sure that people who come in with respiratory illnesses of any kind don’t spread them to others in our emergency department," UCSF spokesperson Kristen Bole wrote in an email. "Patients will not stay in the tents, other than for initial triage."

Bole added: "This is also a busy time of year for influenza patients, so we will be using them for any patients with respiratory symptoms."

UC San Francisco has seen an increase in the number of patients in recent days, but Bole said specific numbers and details on the patients' sickness aren't available.

"It’s often hard to parse these out, since 'respiratory illness' is a very common reason to come to the hospital during winter months," she said.

The tents were set up right outside the emergency department at 505 Parnassus.

California now has 114 cases, including passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship currently off the coast of California, according to the state's public health department.

Five new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in San Francisco, according to the Department of Public Health, bringing the total in the city to 13. All five people had contact with other known cases of coronavirus. They were in good condition at their homes, the department said.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her news tips and photos at agraff@sfgate.com.

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