Some Cincinnati residents who are experiencing homelessness and exhibiting possible symptoms of coronavirus COVID-19 will be housed in the city’s recreation centers under a new plan revealed today.
The centers will be staffed by nurses and set up so that safe social distance can be observed. So far, one such facility has been set up at the Over-the-Rhine Community Center. That center has 10 beds surrounded by curtains in its gymnasium, but could accommodate up to 20, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said today.
When a healthcare provider identifies someone experiencing homelessness who may have COVID-19, they’ll refer that person to the Cincinnati Health Department, who will in turn send them to the OTR center or other CRC locations.
“We will get through this by being creative,” Cranley said. “We haven’t found solutions to every problem that is emerging yet, but we are tackling those problems one day at a time… there are many vulnerable populations that are impacted by this crisis.”
The mayor, City Manager Patrick Duhaney, Cincinnati Health Commissioner Melba Moore and Cincinnati Recreation Commission Director Daniel Betts held a news conference today to discuss the plan. Social service agencies like the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition and Strategies to End Homelessness collaborated on the measures, and Interact for Health provided $10,000 to implement them.
Duhaney says the centers are designed to help those without homes “maintain their dignity as they traverse a very difficult situation that a lot of us, homeless or not, are probably going to have to go through over the next several weeks.”
The city manager says planning began about a week ago to aid shelters that may not have the capacity to follow social distancing and isolation or quarantine recommendations.
“Most of the shelters we found are able to do that,” he said. “There are a few that aren’t, and this is what we opened up the OTR center for.”
The city is also looking at other options, including repurposing municipally-owned buildings that could be used to shelter families or individuals.
Meanwhile, a data-tracking system is being put in place to keep track of those who are isolating due to symptoms that could be signs of COVID-19, Health Commissioner Melba Moore says. Anyone who is under isolation due to symptoms will be noted in the system, as will anyone who tests positive.
“We’ll be in communication with our homeless shelters to assure the safety and self-isolation and monitoring of their residents,” she said.
Though Ohio has confirmed 67 cases of the virus, none have been confirmed in Hamilton County yet. Moore says that will change as testing ramps up. UC Health set up a drive-thru testing facility at its Clifton campus; patients will need a physician’s referral to receive testing, however.
Anyone experiencing symptoms that could be COVID-19 can call the city’s health department at 513-357-7462 or the Ohio Department of Health at 1-833 427-5634. More information can also be found at the city’s COVID-19 website or the State of Ohio’s information site.
This article appears in Mar 4-17, 2020.