Los Angeles is increase efforts to secure people experiencing homelessness from the coronavirus break out, which has eliminated some 500 county residents.
At least 33 unsheltered individuals had checked favorable for COVID-19 since Thursday, according to Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Most of those cases are people surviving on the streets, not in shelters.
In an effort to avoid that number from increasing, Los Angeles will release medical street teams to known encampments and set up trailers throughout the city to get individuals off the street, Mayor Eric Garcetti revealed Friday.
This is in addition to statewide efforts to fast-track placing some of California’s 151,000 homeless residents in temporary shelters through Project Roomkey.
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” With this infection touching every part of our community, we’re doing whatever we can to keep those without a home safe,” Garcetti stated.
Starting next week, street groups will perform rapid-result COVID-19 field tests, health and wellness screenings, offer counseling for reliable social distancing and provide access to shelters or other short-term housing.
The Los Angeles Fire Department is likewise setting up a high capacity pop-up testing clinic in Skid Row, which has one of the greatest concentrations of unsheltered residents in the county. This site will include transportation to isolation and quarantine beds for people who check positive, Garcetti stated.
” Individuals experiencing homelessness frequently lack a safe space to self-isolate or practice physical distancing, and numerous are older adults or experience underlying medical conditions that would leave them especially susceptible to COVID-19,” stated Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. “Through this collaborated effort … we will make sure no one is forgotten during this public health crisis.”
Los Angeles is likewise introducing a program to house at-risk homeless people inside trailers offered by the state. These temporary shelters will be scheduled for residents without houses who are 65 and older or have pre-existing health conditions. Garcetti said he prepares for 300 trailers will be readily available in the coming weeks.
” While we continue to deal with long-lasting housing services for our most vulnerable populations, the medical groups will go a long method in getting services on the street where our unhoused neighbors live to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep them safe throughout this pandemic,” stated council member José Huizar. “This outreach approach together with offering more sanitation stations and preventive resources will go a long method in helping a population that needs all of our assistance through this crisis.”
On Friday, Garcetti contacted hotel and motel owners to take part in Task Roomkey, which provides momentary shelter to high-risk individuals without stable housing. The county has protected 2,400 spaces and is working out with more than 24 additional hotels and motels, the mayor said.
Previously, the county announced an objective of protecting 15,000 rooms to house a few of the region’s 60,000 people experiencing homelessness.
Alicia Victoria Lozano
Alicia Victoria Lozano is a Los Angeles-based digital press reporter for NBC News.
