Thousands of hotel rooms secured for California's homeless during COVID-19 crisis, Gov. Newsom announces

Saturday, April 18, 2020
CAMPBELL, Calif. (KGO) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an initiative Saturday afternoon to house California's homeless during the coronavirus pandemic - a program that will take thousands of people off the streets.

The governor said California has secured a total of 10,974 hotel rooms for the unsheltered as well as another 5,025 motel rooms, thanks to a partnership with Motel 6.

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Motel 6 is making rooms available to the homeless at 47 locations in 19 counties in California.

A total of 4,211 homeless individuals are now staying in hotel rooms due to the virus. The number represents 38 percent of the rooms available to the homeless in California, Newsom said.



Newsom also announced that another 87 Californians died overnight, the highest number of deaths in a single night since the crisis began.

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The death toll in the state stands at 1,072, the governor said.

California has a total of 28,963 positive cases of the coronavirus, with 3,221 hospitalized and 1,173 in the ICU, Newsom said.

The governor has been giving public updates each day during the COVID-19 outbreak, addressing the state's response to the crisis, the number of cases in California, COVID-19 testing and resources for small businesses and workers.




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