Sacramento Warming Centers Remain Closed For 10 Days After 3 More Positive COVID Tests
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Two downtown Sacramento warming centers will remain closed for 10 days after a guest and two more workers tested positive for COVID-19, city officials said on Saturday.
The two warming centers – the Library Galleria on I Street and Southside Pool House on 6th Street – temporarily closed Thursday after a staff member who worked at both sites tested positive.
The City of Sacramento said county health officials notified them of the three new positive tests on Saturday and said the 10-day closure starts from Feb. 18.
A pop-up testing site was launched at Cesar Chavez Plaza for those in attendance at the warming centers. As of Friday, 33 people have been tested and some results remain pending, the City said.
Both centers have received a deep cleaning and contact tracing efforts remain ongoing, officials said.
Despite the closures, the City said the City Hall Parking Garage across the street from Cesar Chavez Plaza will remain open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. to support people living in vehicles and others on foot who may have wanted access to the warming centers.
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Sacramento Mayor Darrel Steinberg released a statement on the matter, which can be read in full below:
"I'd like to start by saying that we as a City will do everything we can to support the three warming center workers and one guest who have tested positive.
"I recognize and accept that opening overnight shelters during the pandemic raises difficult questions. There are risks to bringing large numbers of people indoors. There are also serious risks if we leave hundreds of people outdoors every night with nowhere to get warm. We are doing our best as a City to assess these risks every day, to save lives, and to minimize the chances of Covid spread.
"I fully support the decision to close the Library Galleria warming center for 10 days retroactive to Thursday. This is necessary to make sure nobody else is infected at that site. I support keeping open the City Hall garage for cars and individuals without cars.
"I also support the City working diligently to open multiple new sites in the coming days for overnight shelter. This will better allow us to be cautious about the maximum number of people housed at each site on any given night, so we can ensure adequate spacing and better protect our workers and guests."
