Salt Lake County Leases Entire Hotel For Homeless Most Vulnerable To COVID-19
Apr 13, 2020, 12:53 PM | Updated: 12:54 pm
FILE: The Northwest Quadrant area of Salt Lake City. (Chopper 5)
(Chopper 5)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Officials on Monday announced Salt Lake County is leasing an entire hotel for homeless people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19.
The county has a two-week lease agreement to give 130 high risk homeless clients access to services and space to practice social distancing.
“These individuals are the most vulnerable of the vulnerable within our homeless community. It is imperative we do whatever we can to lessen the chances of COVID-19 impacting their lives,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson in a news release.
According to the statement, the clients are either over the age of 60 or have underlying health issues, which make them more susceptible to serious complications from coronavirus. The hotel residents are asymptomatic.
“We appreciate the hotel operator working with us to provide this extra layer of protection for our highest risk clients,” Wilson said.
The county is not releasing the name or location of the hotel in order to protect the privacy of the people staying there. Clients started moving in April 10 and it will take several days to get everyone settled in.
The county will provide on-site staff, security and behavioral health services.
The lease will last for two weeks with an option to extend it. There is no information on how much the lease costs.
