NEW YORK, September 8, 2022 — The following statement can be attributed to Jacquelyn Simone, Policy Director for the Coalition for the Homeless: “As the Coalition has repeatedly stated since the COVID-19 pandemic started, congregate shelters are particularly risky settings during the outbreak of an airborne infectious disease like COVID-19. The conditions in shelters can facilitate rapid viral spread, as they are often poorly ventilated and there is no way for individuals in dorms to practice social distancing. Requiring masks in shelters was one of the last remaining protections for homeless New Yorkers after City and State leaders have failed to make a sufficient number of single-occupancy rooms available to individuals without homes or implement other preventative measures. Masks are especially critical, as there is a large population of individuals with disabilities and chronic medical conditions in shelters. Governor Hochul’s misguided decision to prematurely end the mask mandate in shelters places the most vulnerable people in our state at heightened risk of serious illness or death as the virus continues to spread in shelters, and could not come at a worse time: right before the anticipated autumn/winter surge in COVID-19 cases. People who do not feel safe in shelters often resort to sleeping on the streets and in the transit system. Despite this reckless decision by the State, New York City should continue to keep the mask mandate in place for people sleeping in shelters. The pandemic is not over, and to pretend otherwise puts our homeless neighbors at risk.”
