Up to 400 homeless people in Los Angeles County could die from the coronavirus pandemic, according to new estimates from researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and two other universities.
The pandemic is likely to kill more than 3,400 homeless people across the nation, with up to 1,200 of those deaths in California and hospitalizations in the state could reach 7,000, with 2,600 in Los Angeles County, researchers found.
The surge in hospitalizations comes “at a time when the health care system is already expecting a surge in needs for hospitalization, intensive care unit beds, and staff and supplies because of the pandemic,” according to the report, which was released Friday.
“As a humanitarian issue and to protect emergency room resources, it is essential that we do everything we can to help homeless people find safety,” wrote co-author Randall Kuhn, associate professor of community health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
The county will need every emergency accommodation resource it has to ensure the safety of 60,000 homeless people, including new shelters, hotels and safe parking, he said.
“The scale of these efforts will be huge,” Kuhn wrote.
The research found an immediate need for 400,000 additional hospital beds across the nation to manage the impact of the pandemic on the homeless, the report said.
“This is a population that’s advanced in age and already suffering from poor health, including deteriorated immune systems,” said Thomas Byrne, a co-author of the report and an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Social Work. “They are vulnerable and at high risk, but for many, it’s not too late. Policymakers have a moral imperative to act now and save lives.”
Neither shelter nor health systems in the United States are equipped to meet the needs of the homeless during the pandemic, the researchers found. They urged new emergency housing arrangements and a reconfiguration of current shelters to enforce social distancing.
The report estimates that the additional capacity needed to mitigate the impacts of coronavirus nationwide will cost $11.5 billion.
In Long Beach, officials last week approved the use of the old North Neighborhood Library to be used as a temporary shelter until the end of September, as well as extending the operation of the West Long Beach winter homeless shelter. In order to comply with social distancing requirements, the 125 beds that are usually available at the West Long Beach shelter will be split between the two shelters.
Acting City Manager Tom Modica said officials are looking for other vacant buildings throughout the city to provide more shelter for homeless residents.
The Multi-Service center remains open and the safe parking program is still available.