Two Sacramento homeless people have tested positive for the coronavirus
Two Sacramento homeless people have tested positive for coronavirus, county officials told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday, the first sign COVID-19 could be spreading among Sacramento’s vulnerable homeless population.
The two people who tested positive for the virus are both hospitalized, but reported to be “doing well,” said Janna Haynes, county spokeswoman. After they are released, they will be sent to “medically supported isolation care units” in either motels or RVs, Haynes said.
As of Thursday, 613 people in Sacramento County had tested positive for coronavirus and 22 had died.
It was not immediately clear whether either person had been staying in a homeless shelter prior to the hospital or how many homeless people in the county have been tested. The county is not releasing the name of the hospital.
The county plans to place the first 20 to 25 homeless people in motels Thursday, Haynes said, nearly four weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the plan. The county is not releasing the name or location of the hotel.
Moving people into hotels means a $15 million plan to get homeless indoors, approved earlier this week by city and county elected officials, is underway. That plan, funded by federal stimulus money and state dollars, includes moving people into 850 motel beds, 80 state-owned RVs and 60 new beds at existing shelters. People might be able to start moving into the RVs Monday, Haynes said. The county is awaiting approval from the state fire marshal.
The $15 million plan also includes distributing sanitation services, hygiene products, sinks and portable toilets, which were placed at several Sacramento encampments Thursday.
Homeless people who have tested positive for the virus will be given first priority for the beds, followed by those who have a pending test, those were recently exposed to an infected person, or are the subject of a public health/medical investigation, according to a plan created by a city/county task force. The third category will include those who are age 65 or higher with preexisting health conditions and symptoms.
Bob Erlenbusch, of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, was saddened by the news that two homeless people had tested positive.
“It’s not surprising because we’ve been waiting for this but to have it finally happen just makes me really sad to tell you the truth,” Erlenbusch said.
Erlenbusch said he hoped the news will prompt local officials to move faster to get homeless into motels and trailers. He also is urging them to install portable showers at encampments.
“My hope is this will really cause them to move at a quicker pace to prevent as many deaths as possible and prevent as many illnesses as possible,” Erlenbusch said.
The virus has already spread among the homeless population in other cities around the state.
In Fresno County, at least one homeless person has tested positive for coronavirus. Los Angeles County has at least 12 cases among the homeless. San Francisco has at least three, including two in the city’s largest shelter.
The virus is most dangerous for elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions. A January 2019 count estimated 5,570 homeless people lived in the county, mostly sleeping outdoors and mostly in the city of Sacramento. About 30 percent of those sleeping outdoors were over age 50. About 20 percent were over 55.
Fresno Bee reporter Manuela Tobias contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 11:15 AM.
