Province secures new site in city for isolation shelter
Government refuses to disclose location, citing concerns for privacy of residents
The Alberta government has found a new site to serve as an isolation shelter in Edmonton, but isn’t disclosing the location, citing privacy reasons.
This site will serve homeless residents experiencing symptoms of COVID -19 without another place to isolate or receive medical care. The new location will come online just after the closure of the Expo Centre site, which has been activated since mid-march and will close on Sunday.
Only five people were receiving care in the isolation site as of Thursday, but at the height of the pandemic, numbers reached upwards of 80 people.
Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney said Friday afternoon the province leased space from a community partner to use the new site as an isolation shelter.
A time frame wasn’t given for how long this site will be activated.
“This facility will continue to be managed by Boyle Mccauley Health Centre and will be operational in time to ensure a smooth transition from Expo. Fortunately, there have been no cases of COVID-19 in the Edmonton homeless population to date. I am confident Boyle Mccauley Health Centre will continue to provide the best care to individuals who need to stay at this facility,” Sawhney said in a statement.
“Isolation facilities do not have walk-in access and there will be security on site to ensure all individuals are safely admitted or discharged. In addition, individuals will be transported to and from any site and will not be discharged into the neighbouring community.”
To protect the privacy of the individuals who may access the facility, Sawhney said the location won’t be identified publicly.
This is the same protocol as in Calgary, where the location of the isolation centre hasn’t been made public.
With support from the City of Edmonton and community agencies, the province initially identified six potential buildings to serve as the new isolation shelter.
One of the options on the table was the former Lawton School in Beverly Heights, but that was removed earlier this week after pushback from residents in the community due to lack of consultation.