Workers on Saturday tore down a temporary federal medical facility inside the Santa Clara Convention Center just weeks after the Air National Guard had raced to build it in anticipation of a surge of coronavirus patients.

But with a local shelter-in-place order imposed in mid-March, that surge never appeared the way it did in places like New York. Between April 5 and 28, officials said, the center treated a total of 20 patients.

SANTA CLARA – MARCH 27: A member of the Air National Guard out of Channel Island smiles as they carry bed comforters at the temporary federal medical facility set up inside the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, March 27, 2020. (Randy Vazquez / Bay Area News Group) 

The center had been set up to hold 250 patients. It was built to serve people who tested positive and were well enough to leave the hospital but didn’t have a safe place to recuperate — from homeless people to those in crowded apartments where isolating someone is difficult.

The facility had included a side for men and a side for women, with a makeshift nursing station in the center.

After the equipment is packed up and the hall gets a deep cleaning, the convention center will prepare to get back to hosting events whenever local shelter orders permit such activities.

Businesses have been eager to get back to normal operations, with many laying off workers and unemployment numbers surging in recent weeks.