CONCORD, NH – The state knows of only two homeless people who have tested positive for COVID-19, state Department of Health and Humans Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said Thursday during the Governor’s news conference concerning the virus.
Last week, about 90 residents and 50 staff members were tested for the virus at the FIT/New Horizons shelter in Manchester.
Cathy Kuhn, chief strategy officer for FIT/New Horizons which oversees the shelter, would not say if anyone at the shelter tested positive, citing confidentiality and HIPAA regulations. However, she said about 10 people are quarantined in the former St. Casimir School building on Union Street.
Shibinette said New Horizons test results are back but she did not disclose them.
“We know of two unsheltered individuals in our state in isolation because of positive tests, not necessarily from that facility but in general statewide,” she said.
She said the day of the testing the city’s Public Health Department “did a really great job segmenting the population, from those who were symptomatic and who were exposed. “
Those who were exposed or in close contact were quarantined in a separate building away from everybody else.
“So they’ve done a great job with limited resources in really trying to make sure they are able to quarantine and do some social distancing measures with the clients of that shelter,” she said.
She said the state is assisting people who have tested positive and are in isolation to ensure they receive the care needed. The homeless population is a vulnerable one because many have health issues, suffer from addiction and/or have mental health issues.
“We try to put them in a setting where they can be successful where they have those services available,” she said.
Shibinette said the former Laconia State School has been used to house some unsheltered people since Monday and there have been no issues with it. There also are some people in hotels, she said.
Shibinette said many unsheltered people from many areas of the state have been tested. She said they are in daily contact with shelters and are in the process of setting up testing in Keene and the Seacoast area.
She said they don’t always send in a team to do testing at all shelters when there are one or two individuals who can be tested at Convenient MD.
The New Horizons testing, done by the city and with the help of Manchester firefighters and CMC’s Healthcare for the Homeless Clinic located at the shelter, was more visible because it is the state’s largest adult shelter.
Kuhn said the St. Casimir facility is being used for quarantine because “we’re responding to what’s in front of us every single day and doing everything we can to keep the population safe.”
St. Casimir was supposed to house the homeless in an effort to split up the population and allows for social distancing in the main shelter at 199 Manchester St.
“These are the situations where we have to pivot,” she said.
Kuhn said Fit/New Horizons is looking to open the vacant Angie’s Place building on Union Street to alleviate the numbers at the Manchester Street facility. St. Casimir can accommodate up to 40 people while Angie’s has 17 rooms, she said.
Currently, the number of people staying at the shelter is down to 78; last year at this time there were 90 people.
Kuhn said it is not necessarily that people fear contracting the virus in the shelter but because they do not want to go into quarantine.
She said it is also the time of year when the numbers fluctuate because the weather is nice.
“They prefer to go outside,” she said. “People are able to get outside more easily than they were back in the winter.”
When fewer people use the shelter, it makes it harder on the city’s outreach workers – from the Healthcare for the Homeless, the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, the city’s public health, fire and police departments – to keep track of them and connect them to services.
Kuhn said it also makes it harder to ensure there is social distancing and good hygiene. The state, she said, is going to provide portable toilets, trash receptacles and other supplies to help.
Kuhn said outreach workers have a good handle on where the homeless are living.
“I think they are probably hunkering down more than they usually would,” she said.
Kuhn said they also are trying to develop a plan on how to get them food each day so they can survive. They also are providing them with other basics such as sleeping bags, socks and clothing.
At the same time, they are educating those sleeping in tents of the need to keep 12-by-12-foot distance between sites.
She said they have tents to give to those who do not want to use the shelter or to replace worn or stolen tents.
Outreach workers also are trying to help the homeless apply for the economic impact payments. “It’s hard for them to get checks. They don’t have an ability to apply for them” she said.
One major concern is an anticipated surge in the homeless once the moratorium is lifted that currently bars landlords from evicting tenants who are in arrears.
“When that is lifted, people are going to have months of arrearages,” she said.
There has only been one incentive check from the federal government so far.
“There’s so many bills to pay,” she said.
