Salvation Army reports COVID-19 cases now at 25 at its Modesto homeless shelter
The Salvation Army reported Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 cases among the homeless men at its Berberian Center shelter has risen to 25.
The army reported last week that three homeless men had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. These were the center’s first COVID-19 cases among its homeless men and women.
Stanislaus County public health then had all the homeless men and women as well as shelter staff tested. The army has said that was about 120 to 130 people. The tests are being conducted weekly, with the last tests Tuesday. Results are expected Monday.
The Berberian Center at Ninth and D streets near downtown Modesto consists of two shelters, the army’s and the county’s low-barrier shelter. The army operates both, which are physically separate.
Maj. Harold Laubach Jr. said last week the county placed the first three men in motel rooms while they recover. He said Wednesday the 22 additional men who have tested positive have been moved to a dorm in the low-barrier shelter.
He said the 25 men have symptoms ranging from none to mild.
He said the dorm is self-contained with its own entrance and exit to the outside and is closed to the rest of the low-barrier shelter. He said the dorm has its own restrooms and showers and meals are brought in. He said the staff working with these men work only with them and no one else.
COVID testing as a precaution
Laubach said out of an abundance of caution and to relieve any anxiety low-barrier shelter clients and staff may have, the county is having them tested for COVID-19 as well.
County Office of Emergency Services spokesman Raj Singh said it made sense to keep the 22 men at the Berberian Center in isolation rather than have the county place them in motel rooms to self isolate and recover.
The county is placing people with COVID-19 in rooms in several motels and it is leasing the Modesto Hotel to place people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are 65 and older and-or medically vulnerable. Singh said most are homeless, and all don’t have a safe place to stay during the pandemic. He said people are placed based on referrals.
Laubach said the army continues not to take new guests, have the homeless self-isolate and stay at the center and follow the other measures to limit the spread of the virus during the outbreak.
Outbreak over at Gospel Mission?
This comes as the Modesto Gospel Mission may have put its outbreak behind it. The mission reported nine COVID-19 cases in late June. The number peaked at 40 among its male guests and staff this month. No one required hospitalization.
The homeless women and women with children and the female staff who work with them are housed in a different building than the homeless men and male staff who work with them. The Salvation Army also separates its homeless men from its homeless women as part of stopping the spread of the virus.
Gospel Mission Executive Director Jason Conway said Wednesday the mission has had two consecutive weeks without positive tests, which indicates the outbreak is over, but the county’s isolation and quarantine orders remain in place until the mission receives official clearance from public health.
Laubach said the Berberian Center would appreciate donations of personal protective equipment.
He said while the army has an adequate supply of N95 masks and is expecting more from the county it could use more of them as well as face shields. He said masks and shields can be dropped off at The Salvation Army’s administration center, 301 10th St., from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. The center’s phone number is 209-522-3209.
Singh has said the cases at the Gospel Mission were the first outbreak in the county among homeless people.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 4:30 AM.
