California Governor Gavin Newsom says his state is addressing the crisis that came before the coronavirus. The first-term Democrat conducted his daily briefing on the state's response to the virus from a Sacramento motel that now houses some of the city's homeless.
Newsom said a first-in-the-nation Project Roomkey is helping address the state's homeless problem. The partnership between the county, state and federal governments is being rolled out across the state and should help thousands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is picking up 75-percent of the cost.
FEMA also shipped in a number of trailers to the Cal Expo site in Sacramento to help house the area's homeless. More trailers are expected to arrive in the coming days.
"Homeless Californians are incredibly vulnerable to COVID-19 and often have no option to self-isolate or social distance," said Governor Newsom. "By helping the most vulnerable homeless individuals off the street and into isolation, California can slow the spread of COVID-19 through homeless populations, lower the number of people infected and protect critical health care resources. We’re working hard with our county partners to get these hotels up and running as rapidly as possible."
Newsom said it was important to implement this quickly to keep the homeless population from contributing to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.