The city of San Francisco preemptively rolled out 30 recreational vehicles on Tuesday (March 19) it said would be used to house individuals who do not have their own home and have tested positive for COVID-19, the highly contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness caused by coronavirus.
The 30 vehicles, which cost just above $440,000, were rented through June and were paid for by funds gained through Mayor London Breed’s emergency declaration, will be available to individuals identified through the Department of Public Health or through health care providers, Francis Zamora, director of external affairs for the city’s emergency management department, told reporters on Tuesday.
Zamora said the main purpose was to have the vehicles ready in the event that the virus spreads further, affecting the city’s most vulnerable, including some 8,000 people estimated to be living in shelters, on the streets, or with family and friends.
As of Tuesday, the city had 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Nationwide, almost three-quarters of US states have confirmed COVID-19, with almost 1,000 cases in the United States and 29 deaths.
The vehicles, for now, will remain in the Presidio of San Francisco, a park on the northern tip of the city, but Zamora said they are still finalizing plans for where throughout the city the RVs would be deployed as well as how many RVs are sent out to different neighborhoods in groups.
In addition to the RVs, the city says it’s working with local hotels to find empty hotel rooms where individuals can quaranteine and self-isolate. Zamora said he did not have an exact number of the rooms that the city is targeting.