I wouldn't be asking if I knew the answer to this question.

[PigsDad]

The death rate rate for those that test positive, across all populations, in my state is staying pretty steady for the past few weeks at about 3%-4%. So much higher than the flu and the 1% that was quoted earlier.

There is a huge difference between the death rate of those who test positive and the death rate of Covid-19. Since we test so few and most people are asymptomatic, the true death rate is less than 1%.

Kurt

 

[amycurl]

There is a huge difference between the death rate of those who test positive and the death rate of Covid-19. Since we test so few and most people are asymptomatic, the true death rate is less than 1%.

Kurt

I was using the known stats that have stayed steady for my state over the past few weeks, even as testing has gone up to about 5,000 people a day. Yes, I know the difference. I clearly stated that it was the "death rate of those that test positive;" I'm sorry if you didn't catch that in my original post. I don't think any one knows the "true" death rate, because, as you state, we are testing relatively so few people. We might not know that number for a few more years.

 

[Jan M.]

Because cities are responding to the needs of their homeless population pro-actively. Shelters are implementing stricter cleaning requirements, and lessening the amount of people who can stay (to increase distance between residents.) Some cities (like the one I work in) are opening two different, new shelters (and some of these shelters, in some cities, are in hotels): one that is for those who are positive or presumed-positive, awaiting results, and one for those who are medically fragile (and more likely to have a worse reaction to the virus) but have not yet tested positive.

In some cities, homeless folks are dying and people aren't realizing it is from COVID, if they're not being tested (I suspect this is true for more populated cities.)

I am actively involved in the planning of these efforts, so this isn't just armchair speculation on my part.

The death rate rate for those that test positive, across all populations, in my state is staying pretty steady for the past few weeks at about 3%-4%. So much higher than the flu and the 1% that was quoted earlier. I would consider NC a medium-density state. So, in the city where I work, the last point-in-time count of the homeless population in 2020 was 440 people. Based on those numbers, I would expect that about 17 homeless people would die, if every single one of those 440 ended up getting the virus. Now, even if the death rate was twice the state average, due to folks that experience homelessness having less access to healthcare and many underlying conditions that worsen COVID-19, we're in the 30-40 range. All of those lives are valuable and worth taking extra effort to save, but in no way would the virus "wipe out" people experiencing homelessness.

The community is now focused more on making sure that hundreds and thousands of folks who haven't made rent payments in April and May won't get evicted and become homeless when the eviction moratorium expires in June.

Thanks. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to learn. I appreciate a response from someone with first hand knowledge. We wondered why aren't hearing anything about the homeless now and what is being done for them.

In the beginning there was a lot in the media about how the homeless would be impacted. We were told repeatedly that because of their health and living conditions COVID-19 would be the death of massive numbers of them. That our resources, charities, hospitals, morgues etc. would be inevitably overwhelmed. There was a lot of concern and some reports of what was being done to help.

The media now has us focusing on how this is hurting people who aren't homeless and who had jobs. On our local news night after night we are seeing stories of cars lined up for hours in advance to receive bags of food. We are also seeing different groups handing out bags of food in less affluent neighborhoods. I don't know about where all of you live but the homeless in this area aren't driving the kinds of cars we're seeing, don't have money to spend on gas to sit in line for hours nor do they live in family type neighborhoods.

 

[fer829]

An interesting note about our city is that during the day when the homeless are out, they would use the public toilets in either the bus station or library. However, both are closed and when it was found that the alleys were being used--the city put some port-a-potty units at both sites. They are cleaned and disinfected each day.

 

[amycurl]

You're welcome, Jan.
I don't watch the news, so I'm not sure what is being focused on or reported. I see some local newspaper headlines that end up in my in-box--mostly the daily stats report--but most of my information is coming from regular, "inside baseball" calls and updates with local/state emergency management and other key stakeholders.

Hunger is a big issue. The spike in unemployment, and the lack of free school lunches, is pushing this issue forward. Every hole in our social safety net is being widened and highlighted during the pandemic.

 

[MrockStar]

You're welcome, Jan.
I don't watch the news, so I'm not sure what is being focused on or reported. I see some local newspaper headlines that end up in my in-box--mostly the daily stats report--but most of my information is coming from regular, "inside baseball" calls and updates with local/state emergency management and other key stakeholders.

Hunger is a big issue. The spike in unemployment, and the lack of free school lunches, is pushing this issue forward. Every hole in our social safety net is being widened and highlighted during the pandemic.

Yes the net is stretched way out and if we dont get back to work soon it will be broken beyond repair.

 

[PigsDad]

I was using the known stats that have stayed steady for my state over the past few weeks, even as testing has gone up to about 5,000 people a day. Yes, I know the difference. I clearly stated that it was the "death rate of those that test positive;" I'm sorry if you didn't catch that in my original post. I don't think any one knows the "true" death rate, because, as you state, we are testing relatively so few people. We might not know that number for a few more years.

Oh, I caught that. The reason I replied is because you stated "So much higher than the flu and the 1% that was quoted earlier", which I assumed you were referring to my post. There have been several initial studies where they randomly sample the population to see how many people have been exposed to CV-19, and all of them have been finding that there are many times more people who have been infected vs. confirmed cases. Just using even the most conservative of those survey's results puts the real death rate below 1%.

Kurt

 

[Monykalyn]

Jan the homeless issue is a problem worldwide too.
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/coronavirus-impact-on-homessless-population/
was an overview of the numbers and how they are being affected.
What I found interesting is the statement that positive cases in charities or shelters aren't accurately reported in NY?

 

[artringwald]

Even their families don't care because if they did, they wouldn't be wandering the streets in search of their next meal.

I'm not sure why you would assume that their families don't care. If someone is homeless because of mental illness or dependency problems, the families may care very much about them, but have been unable to help. If someone can only find a part time job at minimum wage, it may not be enough to afford rent, and relatives may not be making enough to help either.

 

[am1]

Thats a great use of mostly empty hotel rooms, glad its an option there.

Yes and hopefully the damage done is not too expensive. It is a sad part of everything but something that does happen.

 

[am1]

An interesting note about our city is that during the day when the homeless are out, they would use the public toilets in either the bus station or library. However, both are closed and when it was found that the alleys were being used--the city put some port-a-potty units at both sites. They are cleaned and disinfected each day.

Hopefully that will continue after the pandemic.

 

[geekette]

In some cities efforts are being taken to assist the homeless by using alternate facilities for shelters, by keeping shelters open longer (Santa Fe is doing this).

Yes. Many have been taken from the streets to motels. Depends on where you are as to what's happening.