Homelessness and the Coronavirus: Why We Should Care

In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, shelter is especially important. Think about it: we are told to Stay Home,

but what are you supposed to do when you can’t because you don’t have a home? 

This is especially concerning given some of the recent data to come out about the spread of COVID-19 within populations
that are traditionally higher risk for disease, namely corresponding to a lack of healthcare and harmful social forces.

Furthermore, they have little access to hygiene-promoting products such as hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes,
as well as showers. 

It’s vital that attention is turned towards this community given that the homeless population often lives in close quarters. 1.4 million people rely on homeless shelters each year in the United States, which means that both on the streets and in the shelters, there is a high risk of transmission. Especially due to the fact that most of those who have tested positive show no symptoms. Gina Neff, sociologist at the University of Oxford, says “what we’re seeing in this first wave in the US is that the largest clusters are in populations where people don’t have a lot of agency… These populations will become the sources of new outbreaks, even when we feel like we kind of have it under control.” So, with all of the effort that the community is putting forward to curb the current outbreak, investing in proper care, sanitation, and housing is at the forefront of preventing the next one.

Check out the link for more information to learn how to best protect yourself
and support the community:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01389-3