Sacramento homeless warming centers still closed as city waits on COVID test results
Two of Sacramento’s homeless warming centers have received “a deep cleaning” after someone who recently worked at both places tested positive for COVID-19, but city officials said the shelters will remain closed Friday night.
The warming centers at the Library Galleria at 828 I St. and the Southside Pool House at 2107 Sixth St. were closed Thursday night after city officials learned of the positive test result for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
The centers would have to stay closed Friday as city officials wait for more test results from employees and volunteers who worked at the centers, according to a news release.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby, Council Member Katie Valenzuela and City Manager Howard Chan, who recently worked at the Library Galleria warming center during the exposure period, have all confirmed that their COVID-19 test results were negative, city officials said.
Council Member Mai Vang, who also worked at the center, was still waiting for test results, according to the news release.
The City Hall Parking Garage at 1000 I St. will remain open, from 8 p.m. Friday through 8 a.m., for people in vehicles and also those on foot who would have spent the night at the warming centers. It’s unclear when the centers will reopen.
City officials said they will continue to work with Sacramento County Public Health to determine when the centers can safely reopen. They also said they will continue to work to identify additional sites that can open as warming centers.
The Library Galleria and the Southside Pool House were cleaned Friday in accordance with the city’s coronavirus protocols. City officials said contact tracing continues for employees, volunteers and people who spent the night at the warming centers, along with self-quarantining for those who might have been exposed.
Also on Friday, the city and county health officials set up a free pop-up testing site at Cesar Chavez Plaza for people who stayed at the warming centers and others.
The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously in an emergency meeting Jan. 27 to adopt a resolution proclaiming “the existence of a local emergency relating to persons experiencing homelessness in extreme weather conditions,” according to the news release. Warming centers and safe parking areas have been operating each night since for 12 hours beginning at 8 p.m.
The resolution came after Steinberg voiced frustration over a warming center that was closed during a storm because the temperature didn’t drop below 32 degrees. That does not factor in windchill or rain. The storm injured some homeless people and damaged camps.
At least three other council members — Valenzuela, Vang and Eric Guerra — had asked Chan if the center could open. Ashby also asked Chan if a center anywhere in the city could open quickly.
The city manager has explained he decided not to call county officials to ask for approval to open a warming center on Jan. 26, because there was no public support from county health officials to open an indoor shelter for a second night over fears of a COVID-19 outbreak among the homeless population.
“This is only a temporary shutdown to make sure we are not dealing with a Covid outbreak,” the mayor said in a written statement Thursday night. “I will continue pressing for the Galleria to reopen as soon as safely possible and also will keep working with our community partners to open additional sites.”
