Miami-Dade County’s Homeless Trust reported its first case of COVID-19 within its sheltered community Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Trust, the person who tested positive is in isolation and receiving medical care.
The organization says it’s now working on identifying and isolating those that may have come into contact with the individual.
“The people we work with are the most vulnerable in our county, state, and nation, many of whom are over the age of 65,” County Homeless Trust Chair Ronald Book says. “Our dedicated teams of providers have been working 24/7 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our homeless population.”
Wednesday’s confirmation is just one of three cases within the organization’s continuum of care – two other people living in supportive housing have tested positive for the virus, according to officials.
Since the first week of March, the Homeless Trust says it has implemented a series of rules to monitor the virus within the county’s homeless population.
Some of those rules include handing out hand sanitizer and educating unsheltered homeless persons on the virus, temperature checks on the streets by outreach members and frequent cleanings of shelters.
