Pomona hotel turned into quarantine center causing controversy

POMONA, Calif. - The Sheraton Fairplex Hotel in Pomona has been converted into a quarantine center and is now at the center of a growing controversy.

Security guards at the front gate say no coronavirus patients have arrived yet, and except for the occasional security patrols, the hotel appears empty.

Pomona City Councilmember Robert Torres who represents the neighborhood around the hotel says he's concerned that there is not a plan in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to the community and claims he never had advance warning about the quarantine site. Torres adds that some residents are not happy about their new neighbors -- those who would be quarantined at the Fairplex.

Despite some comments on the councilmember's Facebook page of people opposing the quarantine center, the company that runs the Fairplex is standing by the decision to help.

The company CEO Miguel Santana told FOX 11 that this is possibly the most important community role the Fairplex has ever played -- to stop the spread of the virus saying, "Goes to the core of what Fairplex is all about: supporting, even preserving community. And never is this more important than when the threat is greatest and we all feel challenged to think of our own needs first."