The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Only 1 COVID death seen among CT homeless
NORWALK — There has been just one confirmed death of a homeless person in Connecticut with COVID-19, but officials said the number may not be completely accurate.
“All signs in the data, as well as in the ongoing care, point to a pretty successful effort of keeping the prevalence of COVID-19 low in the homeless population,” Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness senior program manager David Gonzalez Rice said.
The CCEH and the state Department of Housing have identified a single death of a homeless person with the coronavirus, but admit the data used to calculate the number of cases and deaths of homeless people from COVID-19 is incomplete, as the release of information is dependent upon many factors of which the coalition is not in full control, Gonzalez Rice said. Medical record release forms and regular testing of a somewhat nomadic population complicate the statistics.
“There’s always a question of why a statewide data set is a sample set,” he said. “It’s because health data is shared or not shared in many different formats and subject to having release of information from the client. It’s not a large-scale data match, but a patchwork process of many different providers.”
Testing data is collected from homeless shelters and testing centers across the state and uploaded to the Homeless Management Information System database developed by the state. The number of results entered range from just over 100 to more than 300 each month, Gonzalez Rice said.
“We believe there have been a very small number of deaths, less than five, that have anecdotally been due to COVID,” Department of Housing spokesman Aaron Turner said. “Unfortunately, we do not have a mechanism for tracking deaths. We have tried our best to create a method of collection for testing and positive cases in our HMIS system, but in some instances we have had difficulty getting the information since it is protected health care information.”
Statewide, the COVID-19 positivity rate for homeless people has been consistently at or below the positivity rate of the regular population, according to Gonzalez Rice. “That was found true early in the pandemic and remained true throughout,” he added.
The heartening numbers are largely due to Connecticut’s proactive response to the pandemic.
Connecticut lawmakers swiftly enacted statewide mask mandates and enforced physical distancing, CCEH development adviser Madeline Ravich said, with the coalition and local shelters following suit.
“Back in March when pandemic hit, we realized we needed to act fast,” Ravich said. “It was clear even though there wasn’t the best information, the spread in congregate settings had the potential to be a disaster.”
The coalition worked with the Department of Housing and partnered
with 15 hotels across the state to move half of shelter residents into hotels to allow six feet between shelter residents, Ravich said.
In Norwalk, two residents of the Open Doors shelter contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began, Executive Director Michele Conderino said. The first case was last spring, when the pandemic broke out and the second case occurred in December, she said.
“Because we are able to rapidly get people quarantined, we have never had a
mass infection here,” Conderino said. “The team is very proactive about addressing anybody who might be exhibiting symptoms or had exposure to anyone else.”
Along with social distancing, quarantining and regular testing conducted by the Community Health Center in Norwalk, Conderino said a close relationship with the city health department has contributed to the shelter’s success in controling the coronavirus.
As residents of congregate settings, including
homeless shelters, fall under the state’s vaccination Phase 1b, inoculating shelter residents and staff is already underway, Gonzalez Rice said.
“An estimated 175 individuals have received both doses, with an additional 125 having received their first dose,” he said. “Shelters housing an additional 225 to 250 individuals report being scheduled in two to three weeks.”
Open Doors in Norwalk expects to receive enough vaccines through the Norwalk Community Health
Center to inoculate all residents, shelter staff and volunteers — about 100 people total — within the next two weeks, Conderino said. While the shelter cannot require residents to get tested or vaccinated, enough tests and vaccines will be available for those who choose to receive them, she added.
“We have not stopped accepting people, ever,” she said. “We have continued to accept new residents.”