PPE is being stored in a building bought to be a morgue. | Unsplash
PPE is being stored in a building bought to be a morgue. | Unsplash
A state building bought as a morgue for victims of COVID-19 for $5.5 million has become a storage locker for personal protective equipment and testing supplies.
"I think it’s the most expensive way to store PPE to buy a very high-end building," Sen. Michelle Benson, who chairs the Senate Health committee, told Fox 9. "I'm certain the state has other buildings."
Benson and Rep. Jim Nash have requested a tour of the building, which didn't allow Fox 9 in for a tour for security reasons.
Inside the building are boxes piled high filled with gloves, hand sanitizer, testing supplies and more PPE, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Amber Schindeldecker told Fox 9. She also said there are several areas of the building that could potentially store bodies although the state isn't using it for that purpose right now.
"The intention is to have it available as a temporary morgue if needed, and to store PPE, testing supplies and potentially vaccination supplies," she said in an email to Fox 9. "At a minimum, the State of Minnesota will keep the building until the pandemic ends. This disease is unpredictable, so it’s prudent to maintain the ability stand up a temporary morgue until the danger passes."
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