Unused COVID quarantine pods finally being repurposed
Topline: Nashville spent $1.2 million to buy 108 quarantine housing pods in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the shelters were never used. Now the city plans to give 25 of them away to local nonprofits to be used as homeless shelters while covering the cost of renovating them.
Key facts: The combined municipality of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County bought the pods using federal funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Part of the $1.2 million price tag was for certified nursing assistants and 24-hour security at the pods — which was obviously unnecessary because the pods were never used, Nashville Scene reported.
Nashville started installing 25 of the quarantine pods in 2021 but could not use them until the Tennessee Fire Marshall’s Office gave its approval. The fire marshal told Nashville Scene they required a letter signed by an engineer declaring the pods were safe, but Nashville did not send the letter for almost a year.
The remaining 86 pods have been in storage in an unknown location. The Nashville Scene could not even confirm whether the pods are still in Tennessee.
Metro Nashville has been trying to find a way to repurpose the pods since 2023 and is currently accepting applications to give away the pods for homeless housing. The government will pay for the cost of transporting the pods, renovating them, buying replacement parts and installing thermal barriers.
Critics say the city is taking too long to put the pods into use, which were approved for use as homeless shelters in late 2024. Dede Byrd, a founding member of local nonprofit Reclaim Brookmeade Park, told FOX17 Nashville “It is unacceptable to me that it takes this long.”
Summary: Covid-related expenses cost the country more than enough without spending money on initiatives that did not even prevent the spread of disease, like Nashville’s unused quarantine pods.
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