San Francisco to provide temporary housing for COVID-19 patients, homeless exposed to virus, mayor says

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed addressed the novel coronavirus outbreak Tuesday morning along with plans for temporary housing to quarantine city residents and the homeless who have been exposed to the virus.

The housing would be for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and do not need to be hospitalized and individuals who do not have access to housing and have been exposed to the virus.

"Our top priority is public health and slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our community," Breed said. "Not everyone in our city has access to housing where they can go if they are infected or are exposed to the virus, and it's important that we take measures like this to care for our most vulnerable residents, including people who are homeless."

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RVs would be used as temporary isolation housing, the mayor said.

"We have some RVs, we have locations in case people, you know, who are homeless or who live in single occupancy hotels where they're in close quarters and they can't self-quarantine because they share a bathroom. We have locations for people, if necessary," Breed said.

Officials said they are also in the process of finding hotels with vacant rooms that could be used for quarantine.

The mayor said the decision was made based on guidance from public health officials.

"I want to be clear, every decision we make is made based on the data from public health experts -- the people who understand what's going on with this virus and making the recommendations of what we need to do to keep people safe," Breed said.

RELATED: Live coronavirus updates: SF confirms 1 new case of COVID-19

As of Tuesday morning, there were 14 positive cases of coronavirus in San Francisco.

The newest patient came into contact with a known COVID-19 patient, city officials announced Tuesday.