There's growing concern that homeless people will be at greater risk of becoming infected with coronavirus and will also pose a spread risk
Almost 200,000 Americans live in conditions where they have no adequate shelter, and nowhere to wash their hands, according to a White House report.
Washington state, California and Oregon are among the states most affected by homelessness as income inequality grows and housing costs rise.
And - in a possible recipe for disaster - the new virus has hit hardest on the West Coast, where nearly all of the nation's deaths have occurred.
Health officials have not yet reported coronavirus outbreaks among homeless populations, but tuberculosis and other diseases have swept through them in the past, underscoring their vulnerability.
Yet few communities that are trying to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus have rolled out plans to protect the homeless and give them a place to recover in isolation, which would prevent them from passing it on.
"They are double risk. One is a risk to themselves, the other is a risk to society," said Chunhuei Chi, director of the Centre for Global Health at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
King County, which includes Seattle and has seen most of the deaths in the US, is one of the few places that's taken action: installing more than a dozen module units where infected homeless people can recover, some on county-owned land flanked by apartment buildings. County officials also bought a motel where coronavirus patients can recover in isolation.
San Francisco says it's developing a plan to protect the homeless from the virus but hasn't released details yet.
San Francisco postponed an event at a major arena that was to provide community services for the homeless. It typically draws up to 1,000 people and was delayed to reduce the risk of exposing the homeless population to coronavirus "because they are older as a group and typically have multiple chronic medical conditions," the city said in a statement.
Farther south, in Los Angeles County, the health department is sending teams to over 300 homeless facilities to ensure people are washing their hands and not sharing food or utensils, department director Barbara Ferrer said. She's urging shelters to prepare large spaces to isolate those who may become sick.
Health officials in the nation's most populous county are also planning for a possible large-scale quarantine of homeless people in case the virus spreads, and will deploy street teams to work with those living in encampments to get people with symptoms treated.
Ferrer noted that health officials tell people to stay home when they're sick, to wash their hands often and call their doctors with concerns.
"My heart goes out to the fact that they live in conditions that make it almost impossible for them," she said of the homeless Friday.
Australian Associated Press
