Worcester Using Coronavirus To Get Homeless Into Housing

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester may have found a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic: The crisis has allowed social services workers to link unsheltered people with housing.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus said during Thursday's coronavirus news conference that nine homeless people have been moved into some form of housing since the crisis began.

In late March, officials opened four temporary shelters to prevent coronavirus from spreading within the homeless community. Since then, 58 unsheltered people have tested positive (the number was down to 53 on Thursday), and most are being treated at the DCU Center.

Three city shelters remain open, each with a capacity of 25 people. Of the nine people who have found housing, three moved into apartments, one moved in with a family member, three are getting treatment at the Hector Reyes House, and two have found shelter through Friendly House.

"So, progress," Augustus said Thursday. "Good news in the midst of all that the community is dealing with."

More coronavirus updates from Thursday:

Health officials are saying that Worcester — and central Massachusetts broadly — is a "hot spot" and definitely now in the coronavirus surge. The number of people who have tested positive grew by 97 to a total of 1,542 in Worcester.

Saint Vincent and UMass hospitals were treating 238 coronavirus patients, and 88 were in intensive care. More people were on ventilators on Thursday than at any time so far during the crisis, UMass Memorial Health Care CEO Eric Dickson said — but the hospital still has plenty left to use.

Officials announced four new deaths at the city's hospitals, bringing the total so far during the crisis to 70.