Utah’s COVID surge is hitting the homeless population hard

By IVANA MARTINEZ
KUER-FM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — COVID-19 cases have surged in Utah throughout January, and that’s causing a problem for people who are unsheltered and don’t have a place to isolate. KUER-FM reports outreach workers are seeing more unsheltered people infected with the virus in Utah County due to the omicron surge. They’re working to find places to isolate people since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends unsheltered people stay clear of others for a full 10 days. It can be tricky to find available hotel beds for unsheltered people so they can isolate, mostly due to vacancy rates. Some clinics are also having staffing problems.