As the third week of sheltering in place came to a close in San Francisco, city officials said efforts to move homeless people into hotel rooms would focus on the most vulnerable, and asked for trust and compliance as the city manages the coronavirus pandemic.
“I just want to remind people that when we declared a state of emergency in February, on February 25 of this year, not one person was diagnosed with the coronavirus here in San Francisco. And now, today, we are at 497 people with seven deaths,” said Mayor London Breed. “I know it’s hard to trust the information we’re providing when you can’t necessarily see it. What I want to say is it’s important that you trust the decisions that we are making as to how we manage this public healthcare crisis.”
Regional health officials have issued new guidance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, recommending that residents cover their noses and mouths when out in public.
Breed responded to recent calls from city supervisors and advocates to house homeless people in hotels immediately, saying hotel rooms must be prioritized for the vulnerable — those over 60 and with underlying health conditions who are without shelter.
“We are focused on what is necessary to save lives. We know that there are a lot of frustration and emotion attached to what we know is a real homeless problem in our city,” Breed said. “We are not going to be able to solve our homeless problem in San Francisco with this crisis.”
One case of coronavirus has been confirmed at the Division Circle navigation center. Abigail Stewart-Kahn, interim director of the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, said the site has been supplied with additional masks, and clients and staff are wearing them at all times. The Department of Public Health has also initiated contact tracing, she said, to identify who may have been exposed, and sent health workers to the shelter site to conduct symptoms and temperature screening. Clients demonstrating symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will be tested and relocated to staff quarantine rooms. Others will be moved to hotel rooms based on their risk of exposure and risk of the disease. Meanwhile, the site will be professionally cleaned.
Police Chief Bill Scott said that while compliance with the shelter-in-place order had been good, police had begun citing businesses and individuals for noncompliance.
“We’re not warning you twice, so please heed to these orders,” he said. “We are trying to save lives.”
Read on for an earlier update from city officials.
On the morning of April 1, city officials called for continued compliance with the shelter-in-place orders and said they could be extended further. Mayor London Breed announced that the city would begin to move homeless shelter residents into Moscone Center West to reduce the number of people living in congregate settings in existing shelters. In response to calls from advocates to house homeless people in hotel rooms, Breed pointed to the 400 hotel rooms that have been confirmed and said moving larger groups into hotel rooms would be more difficult.
“I want to be clear that the capacity and the resources in general needed to provide the wraparound supportive services for many of these populations make it very difficult to just open the doors and allow anyone to walk in,” she said. “And in addition to that, we don’t have the ability to force anyone to stay anywhere.”
Breed also announced the creation of a formal city program where residents who want to assist their vulnerable neighbors can sign up for tasks like grocery shopping. Information about the program is available on the city’s website
A segment from our radio show, “Civic.” Listen daily at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on 102.5 FM in San Francisco.
