Hotels and offices in the UK will be turned into emergency safe spaces to shelter homeless people and rough sleepers amd to assist them with self-isolation, in an effort to halt spread of coronavirus.
The measure is part of the country’s strategy to secure the homeless population from the COVID-19 outbreak. The national project is led by Louise Casey, who was hired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month, with the task of carrying out a review on the causes of rough sleeping.
Empty hotels, as well as disused office blocks and student accommodation, have been pre-identified as possible places to host homeless people.
Operations to bring the homeless to hotel rooms have already begun in London, as rooms became available last week, for 300 homeless people to self-isolate for 12 weeks. The 300 rooms in the capital are being offered at a ‘‘substantially discounted rate,’’ the statement read.
‘‘Homeless Londoners will benefit from vital protection against the coronavirus, as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, with the support of the British government, has secured 300 hotel rooms where they will be able to self-isolate over the next weeks’’, London City Hall said in a statement.
‘‘The coronavirus pandemic is impacting everyone in London and we must do everything we can to protect everyone’s health, especially the Londoners who sleep outside every night’’, said the London Mayor.
Homeless people are considered to be among the most vulnerable groups if exposed to COVID-19, as they are more likely to already have severe medical conditions, notably respiratory problems, compared to rest of the population.
The shelters and shared homeless accommodation currently provided to rough sleepers, render the far-reaching measures of social distancing and self-isolating extremely difficult to comply with.
UK's homeless population to be offered hotel rooms and offices to self-isolate
EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
A homeless man sleeps near King's Cross in London, Britain, 18 February 2017.
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