Posted on 03/01/2020 4:25:45 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
Comment I had this morning: I have not heard Dr. Drew comment on coronavirus specifically in these populations, but my own thought is that if it goes through the homeless populations, with their lack of sanitation & underlying bad health, it’s going to decimate them.
Found this article just now:
Could the coronavirus hit California’s homeless population? Health officials are worried
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-03-01/coronavirus-homeless-risk-outbreak-unsheltered-califiornia
Some excerpts:
Beilenson and others said homeless people present unique risks and challenges for outbreaks of infectious diseases. Though the number of coronavirus cases remains at only a few dozen in the United States, homeless people, in particular, for multiple reasons could be vulnerable to both a quick spread of the illness and to more severe cases.
People living outdoors often do so in close quarters and lack the ability to maintain basic hygiene, including precautions such as hand washing. They may also face more danger from serious infection because of existing illnesses or frequent use of drugs or alcohol — factors with the potential to make a case of COVID-19 more severe.
Some homeless people also move often, making them both hard to reach for treatment and potentially increasing the spread of the virus if they are carriers.
“Unfortunately, we know that people living in crowded, unsanitary conditions are at increased risk for a variety of infectious diseases,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, professor of medicine and public health at UCLA. “This is definitely a population … with other chronic medical conditions, so should they acquire coronavirus, they are potentially at risk for more serious complications.”
With an unprecedented number of people living on the streets of California, and large encampments now common in urban areas, coronavirus has created a situation unlike that of previous outbreaks of communicable disease.
And that has led to an uncertain scenario in which planning is happening as the outbreak evolves and public health officials are dealing with the possible complexities of managing a pandemic in the middle of a homelessness crisis.
Jessica Lin, a researcher with the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security who has worked with homeless people, said that if the coronavirus reaches homeless people, it would present a potentially fast-moving hazard — both to those living in encampments and to outreach workers, nearby residents and health providers.
One point of concern if the virus reaches homeless people is where patients could be isolated to stem a wider outbreak.
“If or when it spreads to that population, how do we find places to quarantine a population that we don’t now have space for in many cases?” Lin asked.
But few doubt the overall vulnerability of California’s homeless population. Last year, there was an outbreak of typhus in the squalor near skid row. In other places, including San Diego, homeless residents have seen cases of hepatitis A, and Klausner said homeless people in Santa Monica recently had a few cases of trench fever, which is transmitted by body lice.
“We are a confined community,” said Edward Linwood, who lives in a single-occupancy hotel near skid row and added that many nearby neighbors are elderly or disabled. “If one person gets it, it’s going to spread ... Everything that has affected L.A. comes here.”
By now we know what liberal mgmt. of any area for extended periods of time leads to: a complete collapse of anything we took for granted as a reasonable approach to govt.
Sorry I’m late Larri...did I miss anything?
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