The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds will be transformed into a temporary homeless shelter to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and now that Bay Area shelter in place orders have been extended through May 1, the most vulnerable of the population may been there for several weeks.
The grounds have been used for fairs, community events and
more, and now will be used to move homeless seniors and people with underlying
health conditions out of shelters and out of harm’s way.
“They can get out of what are potentially unhealthy situations
at the encampments, or wherever they’re living, and get to a place that’s
better set up for the appropriate social distancing,” said Bruce Ives, CEO of
the largest provider for unsheltered people in Silicon Valley.
Ives said that social distancing in shelters is a challenge.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez agreed.
“They not only don’t have access to running water and soap,
they may be living in very close quarters with each other,” Chavez said.
Chavez said to help thin out shelters and limit infection,
over 100 people will call the fairgrounds their temporary home. Starting next
week, the county is moving 60 to 80 of the most vulnerable people who are
already in shelters into a building. Fifteen more will move into trailers for
isolation.
“Once someone’s been identified as having the virus or we
suspect they have the virus and are homeless, being able to shelter them from
other people [is important],” Chavez said.
This will also make room in the shelters for people living in encampments and other places, and to make sure everyone has the best opportunity for social distancing as the number of cases is expected to surge next week.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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