Warming shelter participant tests positive
A person who stayed at the warming shelter at Georgie Duke Sports Center Thursday night tested positive for COVID-19 and was being transferred outside of Vacaville, city officials announced in a news release Friday.
The warming shelter was launched Nov. 25 through CARES Act funding to give homeless individuals a place to stay overnight during the winter months. Originally slated to run through the end of February, the Vacaville City Council extended the shelter through March at its Feb. 9 meeting.
Kris Concepcion, the city’s interim communications and media officer, told The Reporter that the person was in the process of being transported to another facility outside of town. As part of this process, he said a rapid COVID test was performed on the individual before being admitted into the facility Friday and came up with a positive result. The person did not exhibit any symptoms, city officials wrote.
Out of privacy for the individual, Concepcion said the location of the new facility would not be revealed.
The Georgie Duke Center is thoroughly disinfected each morning, Concepcion said, and Friday was no exception.
“(Crews) disinfect the entire area where people have stayed at the Georgie Duke Center,” he said, adding that the disinfectant is known to be effective against COVID.
At the March 9 council meeting, residents expressed concerns about using Georgie Duke as a temporary homeless shelter, citing the close proximity to Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy and Andrews Park. In a press statement, City Manager Aaron Busch assured the center was safe.
“We have strong protocols in place to limit the impacts of COVID-19 cases,” he wrote. “We are confident that the winter shelter is safe and encourage anyone who needs a place to stay to continue to use the winter shelter.”
Concepcion said the shelter will remain in place until March 31, but the council will determine at its next meeting if it wants to extend it, end it or move it to another location.
Those who stayed at the center the same time as the person who tested positive will undergo contact tracing by Solano County Public Health officials, according to the statement.