Homeless at 'double risk' of getting, spreading coronavirus

[Judi Lynn]

Andrew Selsky, Associated Press
Updated 6:19 pm CST, Saturday, March 7, 2020

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — They often don't have places to wash their hands, struggle with health problems and crowd together in grimy camps.

That's what makes homeless people particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Almost 200,000 people live in those conditions in the United States, according to a White House report, with Washington state, California and Oregon among the states most affected by homelessness as income inequality grows and housing costs rise.

And — in a possible recipe for disaster — the new virus has hit hardest on the West Coast, where nearly all of the nation's deaths have occurred. Health officials have not yet reported coronavirus outbreaks among homeless populations, but tuberculosis and other diseases have swept through them in the past, underscoring their vulnerability.

Yet few communities that are trying to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus have rolled out plans to protect the homeless and give them a place to recover in isolation, which would prevent them from passing it on.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/medical/article/Homeless-at-double-risk-of-getting-spreading-15113303.php