Perilous Times to be a Migrant, Refugee, Asylum Seeker, Displaced or Homeless Person with Children: A homeless person in Silicon Valley died of the coronavirus Monday, the same day that a 3-week ‘shelter in place’ was ordered for the San Francisco Bay Area

Katie Canales Business Insider•March 17, 2020

A homeless person in Santa Clara County, California, died Monday of the coronavirus disease, which originated in China and has now spread to at least 145 countries and infected 189,000 people, according to Vice.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the news on Monday. 

The governor did not give details about the man’s age or exactly where he was staying but said updates would be given on Tuesday. Santa Clara County, where the man died, has reported 138 cases of the virus. There are 297 cases in the Bay Area.

City officials across the Bay Area also announced Monday that a three-week “shelter-in-place” order would go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to help contain the coronavirus. Residents are directed to remain in their homes as much as possible and can venture outside only for essential needs, like groceries, medicine, and walks, as long as they keep 6 feet between themselves and others.

The order, however, exempts the Bay Area’s estimated 28,200-person homeless population. They are instead encouraged to find shelter until officials can find ways to house them.

The person who died Monday is one of the hundreds of thousands of people living homeless in the US who are at high risk of contracting infectious diseases such as COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus. Many don’t have the luxury of taking the recommended precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19, like handwashing and keeping a distance from sick people.