ST. PAUL — A St. Paul long-term care hospital will be converted into a treatment center for coronavirus patients in order to keep infected patients out of other hospitals.

M Health Fairview cut operations in half at Bethesda hospital this winter for financial reasons, but said Tuesday it will now expand the facility from 50 beds to 90 in order to provide specialty care for COVID-19 patients.

The Minnesota Department of Health said Tuesday that 60 residents had tested positive for the virus, but infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann acknowledged the figure is an undercount because not everyone who is infected gets tested.

Patients now at Bethesda will be transferred this week to other hospitals or skilled-nursing homes, the Star Tribune reported.

For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The move follows a recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create facilities in communities that can receive COVID-19 patients and add critical care staff familiar with the illness.

Bethesda will have 35 intensive-care beds and ventilators, officials said.