The city of Riverside Wednesday set up 15 single-wide trailers at the municipal airport to shelter homeless individuals with coronavirus symptoms as part of a virus containment strategy.
“These trailers will be here for as long as COVID-19 lasts,” Mayor Rusty Bailey said. “This is a way for our neighbors without homes to stay safe during the coronavirus.”
The Coleman trailers, parked on the west end of the airport, were provided by the California Office of Emergency Services based on advocacy efforts by Riverside and a dozen other cities, according to Bailey.
“These trailers have bathrooms, showers, toilets, small kitchenettes with stoves, microwaves and dining areas,” the mayor said.
The nonprofit CityNet, which also manages a village of pre-assembled “cabins” for transients on the city’s eastside, will oversee operation of the trailers, according to city officials.
“Separating individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 from the rest of the homeless population currently residing in shelters will assist in slowing the spread of the deadly virus,” according to a city statement.
To date, just over 1,000 Riverside County residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19, but how many of that number are transients was not disclosed.
More information about the trailers is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKt8j3jXgFY&feature=youtu.be.