As pandemic rages, U.S. immigrants detained in areas with few hospitals

People stand in line to place an order at a local restaurant in Basile amid a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak across the state of Louisiana, U.S., March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

BASILE, Louisiana (Reuters) - U.S. immigration officials say they have a plan if detention centers get hit with coronavirus outbreaks: They will transfer detainees with serious symptoms to hospitals with "expertise in high risk care."

But many centers - each housing hundreds of people, often in close quarters - are located in remote communities, far from hospitals able to handle a rush of patients with COVID-19. Detention center outbreaks in such areas could quickly swamp local hospitals, threatening their ability to treat local residents along with detainees.