Anderson Scooper Photo
Covid-conscious panhandling outside WIlloughby’s at Church and Grove.
New Haven is working with the state to empty its homeless shelters and move hundreds of people into hotel rooms.
Mayor Justin Elicker made that announcement Tuesday afternoon at his administration’s daily Covid-19 Zoom press briefing.
He said the governor has asked cities to clear out homeless shelters to try to stem the spread of Covid-19. The plan is to move homeless people into hotel rooms. So far 84 homeless people are staying in city- or state-paid hotel rooms, Elicker said.
“We are asking the [state] to add enough hotel rooms to accommodate another 300 people” in order to carry out the plan, Elicker said. He predicted the changeover will happen “pretty quickly.”
Zoom
Some participants in Tuesday’s virtual briefing.
Also at the briefing:
• The mayor reported that the city has 119 confirmed Covid-19 cases so far. The city had previously reported that two New Haveners have died from the virus. In fact, only one has, Elicker said: The person previously believed to have died remains alive in the hospital. Statewide, the number of confirmed cases jumped by 557 in the past day, up to 3,128. Sixty-nine Connecticut residents have died.
• A store at the Bella Vista senior complex on which residents had relied to buy food is reopening and providing delivery service. CT Transit is also restoring a previously discontinued stop inside the complex closer to some residents’ apartments.
• The mayor said he and Board of Alders leaders are holding daily conference calls during the Covid-19 crisis. He is also holding a separate daily call with board President Tyisha Walker-Myers, he said.