Confusion is growing around Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti’s plan to relocate the homeless to recreation centers during the coronavirus outbreak, which contradicts Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
The Los Angeles Times reported this weekend that clashes over the city’s policies threaten the overall success of the fight to stop the spread of the respiratory disease.
Officials are concerned that if the virus spreads among the city’s growing homeless population — which reached nearly 60,000 last year — it could overwhelm local hospitals.
But the city’s ongoing plan to move 6,000 homeless people indoors could expose more homeless people to the virus.
The CDC’s guidelines for managing the homeless population during the coronavirus pandemic caution that moving homeless people indoors could make social distancing harder.
The guidelines also specifically warn against clearing homeless encampments, which is evidently one of Mayor Garcetti’s goals.
It is possible that dispersing homeless people from encampments could disconnect them from their usual social service providers — and spread the virus. – READ MORE
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