Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority officials said Tuesday they are providing more resources to homeless people in hopes of preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
“LAHSA is carefully monitoring the developments related to the coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19, and taking appropriate measures to prepare for a possible outbreak among people experiencing homelessness,” according to LAHSA.
The stepped-up efforts include:
— actively working with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;
— communicating with outreach teams to provide additional training on addressing a coronavirus outbreak;
— procuring additional sanitation equipment for outreach teams for their personal protection and to assist vulnerable people living on the streets, including masks, gloves and hand sanitizer;
— notifying staff, partners and service providers about how to prevent and prepare for a coronavirus outbreak;
— working with county Department of Health Services staff to develop and disseminate training specifically for outreach and shelter providers; and
— continuing to update resources and information on the LAHSA website.
At a City Council committee meeting Wednesday, Dr. Muntu Davis of the county Department of Public Health said the agency has been visiting homeless shelters to provide “technical assistance” to reduce potential spread.
“In general, when we think of the homeless population, it’s not so much that they’re at risk of getting the disease itself,” Davis said. “It’s really just that population has a number of underlying conditions that could put them at higher risk.”
More information on coronavirus prevention and links to other government health websites are available at www.lahsa.org.