Las Vegas temporary homeless shelter after coronavirus case called 'inhumane,' people seen sleeping on asphalt


A temporary homeless shelter set up in a parking lot in Las Vegas has stirred controversy and attracted the attention of a former 2020 presidential candidate after images circulated of people sleeping on asphalt.
The Southern Nevada Health District said March 25 in a news release that a man who later tested positive for COVID-19 received help "while he was symptomatic" at the Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada and the Homeless Courtyard, both operated by the city of Las Vegas.
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The closure of the facility after the man tested positive left about 500 people with no overnight shelter. Officials created an open-air site in the parking lot Saturday at Chasman Center, operating from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily through April 3. By then, Catholic Charities is expected to reopen.

People wait to be screened before entering an homeless shelter set up in a parking lot in Las Vegas on Saturday. (Clark County Nevada)

People prepare places to sleep at a makeshift camp for the homeless Monday, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
"After criminalizing homelessness this year, Las Vegas is now packing people into concrete grids out of sight," Castro tweeted, adding, "There are 150K hotel rooms in Vegas going unused right now. How about public-private cooperation (resources) to temporarily house them there? And fund permanent housing!"
In November, Las Vegas officials passed a law making it a crime for homeless people to sleep on streets or sidewalks when beds are available at city-sanctioned shelters.

People prepare places to sleep in area marked by painted boxes on the ground of a parking lot at a makeshift camp for the homeless Monday, March 30, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People prepare to sleep in areas marked by painted boxes on the ground of a parking lot at a makeshift camp for the homeless Monday, March 30, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People prepare places to sleep in areas marked by painted boxes on the ground of a parking lot at a makeshift camp for the homeless Monday in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
LAS VEGAS PARKING LOT TURNED INTO TEMPORARY HOMELESS SHELTER AFTER CORONAVIRUS CASE SHUTS FACILITY
In a series of tweets, the city said Monday that 500 people were left without a place to stay when the Homeless Courtyard Resource Center could not adequately follow social distancing guidelines.

Volunteers and workers set up a temporary homeless shelter in a parking lot in Las Vegas on Saturday. (Clark County Nevada)

Padding carpeting was initially included on the parking lot site, but then Las Vegas officials said it couldn't be "adequately sanitized." (Clark County Nevada
Doctors and medical students from Touro University were evaluating those at the Cashman Center. David Riggleman, a spokesman for the city, told FOX5 if a person is symptomatic for COVID-19 or any illness, an ambulance takes them to the hospital but no one is forced to go.
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Riggleman added that the city is working on a plan to increase screening, as well as isolating or quarantining those who have symptoms or test positive.

The temporary homeless shelter was site was staffed with Touro University medical students and physician assistants who helped screen people entering the site when it opened on Saturday. (Clark County Nevada)
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Nevada has the third-highest rate of unsheltered people who are homeless in the U.S., behind California and Oregon. A study released in fall 2019 by safety resource website Security.org placed Las Vegas among the top 10 cities in the nation grappling with the ongoing homelessness crisis, with Sin City ranking seventh.
As of Tuesday, Nevada had 1,044 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.