“if they leave the isolation centre and walk down the street, they don’t pose a risk to anybody. it’s only if you have close contact that there is a risk.
“unfortunately, we have a lot of people in the community who go to work with covid. you might be shopping at costco and not realize you are positive and you might inadvertently be spreading it.
“the fact that people are homeless does not mean they have any more rights or obligations with regard to covid than other citizens.”
the 100-bed isolation centre at le patro was set up quickly in february as an emergency measure when covid-19 was exploding among the homeless population. it was always intended to be temporary, muckle said.
the centre will be moved back to its former location at routhier community centre on guigues avenue, probably by the middle of next week, she said. about 40 beds are available there, which should be sufficient, muckle said.
the covid-19 situation among ottawa’s homeless population is now less severe. many people who are homeless or otherwise vulnerable have already had their first dose of vaccine, she said.
initially most of the people isolating at le patro had covid-19. there are about 20 people there now, most of them in isolation because they have been in close contact with someone else who has covid-19 or they have symptoms and are waiting for tests, muckle said.