Chatham-Kent still doesn't have a proper isolation shelter for the homeless showing symptoms of COVID-19 but the work continues to secure a location.
CAO Don Shropshire told reporters during a media briefing on Thursday morning that the local homeless population has increased during the pandemic from 75 to over 150 and negotiations are on-going with different property owners to secure a location for isolation.
"A lot of the people in the increase are typically people who have been couch surfers or staying with family and friends and because of COVID-19 there have been some increased concerns about people being in the house and they have been asked to leave," said Shropshire. "So those folks definitely need a place to go."
He said empty arenas would be used but only "if push came to shove." Shropshire added hotels are temporarily being used for some homeless people and they are at capacity because of people who were displaced from their Erie Shore Drive homes during recent flooding, as well as some returning migrant workers who are using hotel rooms to isolate for 14 days upon return to work in local farms.
Shropshire said the idea is to isolate homeless people who are sick with the virus in a separate room and issues are still being worked out.
"One of our major concerns is with this particular pandemic there's obviously a need to self isolate if people present symptoms of COVID-19 [and] for homeless people that presents a huge hurdle if they have no place to go to self-isolate."
Shropshire said there's is no timeline for an announcement and the United Way of Chatham-Kent is currently supporting homeless people's needs to keep them safe.
Adding to the urgency is the fact that Hope Haven, an overnight men's shelter in downtown Chatham, will close April 25.
Meanwhile, Shropshire understands there are concerns about migrant workers bringing COVID-19 into the community but insists there shouldn't be any concerns because they are all required by law to quarantine for 14 days. He said the isolation is mandatory and there is no undue risk to the community at large.
"As long as everybody takes the same basic precautions we've got some confidence were not experiencing any undue risk or not bringing any indue risk to the community," he said. "It's a bigger risk for us if we can't get crops planted or maintain some of those basic services."
The CK medical officer of health said bunker houses where the migrant workers live during the agricultural season are checked by health inspectors and all social distancing rules will apply.
