Monterey County eyes fairgrounds as potential homeless quarantine site

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) Monterey County leaders are working overtime to try and figure out just how to handle the homeless population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several options are being considered for housing them, including using the Monterey County Fairgrounds as a campsite to house people without shelter or housing them in motels.

"A wedding takes a year to plan, and we're trying to put something together that is tied to a pandemic together in a very short period of time," said Roxanne Wilson, the executive officer of the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers.

It has been a stressful few weeks for many involved in planning the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Central Coast. While the housing plans are not set in stone, Roxanne Wilson, who is familiar with the planning and works with the homeless, says they're working hard on the details.

"If we were able to get the fairgrounds, there would be separate populations that we would prioritize," she said.

Wilson says it could be the case there would be three homeless groups at the fairgrounds: those who test positive for COVID-19, those who might have been exposed and those who are at highest risk of getting sick.

The logistics of putting something together like this are challenging, to say the least. Organizers have to create contingency plans for different scenarios.

"You're thinking about security, you're thinking about supplies, you're thinking about staffing. Imagine planning the fair in two weeks," said Wilson.

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo says they are still working on finalizing the plan, especially where the funding will come from. But Wilson says keeping the homeless in one, controlled area is better than the alternative of keeping them where they are.

"If you have people who are infected, possibly infected, walking around, then that's more risky than anything else we can deal with," said Wilson.