Hotel rooms available for homeless quarantines
Spots are only to house ‘asymptomatic’ patients
At least 14 hotel rooms in Humboldt County could be used as emergency shelter should a homeless resident test positive for COVID-19, or the new coronavirus, a county official said.
In an address Wednesday evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for hotels and motels around the state to be used as emergency shelters for the homeless population, given the statewide dearth of hospital beds to treat coronavirus patients.
Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson — in self-quarantine after recently coming into contact
with an elected official who tested positive for the virus — said Wednesday evening the county has found such a space.
“I can say that the county has secured some hotel rooms already in the event there is a positive test in the community so they can be isolated,” Wilson said. “No one’s occupying that space yet that I know of.”
There are 14 available rooms in total with the potential for more if needed, said 2nd District Supervisor Estelle Fennell.
“(The rooms) are only for people who have been tested, found positive and are asymptomatic,” Fennell said Wednesday. “In other words, they just need to be in quarantine. This is a way for them to be isolated; it’s not for people who need medical attention.”
State modeling has shown that at a high rate of infection, very high numbers of unsheltered residents could eventually contract the virus, Newsom said Wednesday.
“As a consequence of this modeling, we are putting a punctuation point on the urgency of now,” Newsom said, before adding that around 1,300 emergency trailers for the homeless will be distributed throughout the state.
In order to create better flexibility for what can be used as a shelter facility, Newsom said the state will waive certain California Environmental Quality Act requirements on building uses. Currently, there are no confirmed positive cases of the virus in Humboldt County (one person who had it recovered last month) and no cases of community transmission, in which one person gives the virus to another. But the county has a limited supply of tests. Local hospitals are asking people who feel only mild symptoms of what could be the virus not to seek testing, so that others with more severe cases can access available tests. The virus evolved into a global pandemic. In the past two days, Sonoma and Mendocino counties followed suit with Bay Area and Southern California counties in declaring a “shelter in place” order, which falls short of a lockdown but requires all non-essential businesses to close and most workers to stay home.
At press time, the county has not ordered a shelter in place, a decision that would fall to the county’s Office of Emergency Services and the county health officer.
“As of right now we are not planning one, nor is there one scheduled,” 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn said Wednesday. “This is such a fluid situation, it could change at any time, but nothing is in the works.”
Newsom said he has requested additional equipment (including ventilators, which aren’t supplied in large numbers in Humboldt County) from a federal agency in order to better combat the virus.
The governor also announced that public schools would not hold state standardized testing even if they do resume session this school year. School districts throughout the county have closed due to concerns about the virus.
A state website dedicated to COVID-19 — covid19. ca.gov — will soon feature a link to the Small Business Association’s resources for businesses affected by the virus’ economic impacts.