The Aug. 9 Metro article “D.C. hotel rooms may further limit virus’s spread” described the extraordinary job D.C. has done to protect people experiencing homelessness during the coronavirus pandemic. As the doctor in charge of medical care at these sites, I found the article’s reference to the high percentage of vacant hotel rooms misleading.
To be clear, D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS) has established hotel sites with two distinct purposes: (1) hotels for people with confirmed or suspected covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or close contacts of someone with the coronavirus who have no place to safely isolate or quarantine; and (2) hotels that proactively protect people experiencing homelessness at highest risk for serious complications or death from covid-19.
The hotels in the latter group are at capacity with 300 individuals safely protected from the coronavirus. In contrast, the isolation and quarantine sites require built-in surge capacity. As the numbers of coronavirus cases among people experiencing homelessness soared to more than 300 in April, DHS negotiated additional hotel contracts to stay ahead of demand. A single case of coronavirus in a shelter could result in 50 admissions on a single day depending on the number of subsequent close contacts.
As transmission rates declined in shelters, the isolation sites have been downsized from four hotels to one. Empty rooms in the one remaining isolation hotel are a testament to the city’s success at containing the coronavirus, preventing homeless shelters from becoming covid-19 hot spots, which is a public health victory for the entire city.
Catherine Crosland, Washington
The writer is director of Homeless Outreach Development for Unity Health Care.