Are Our Youth More At Risk of Contracting COVID-19?
Are those experiencing homelessness more likely to get COVID-19? Short answer: Yes
A retrospective cohort study conducted in Ontario found that people with a recent history of homelessness had a higher rate of exposure to COVID-19. In peak periods, people with a recent history of homelessness were...
Over 20 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for COVID-19,
Over 10 times more likely to require intensive care for COVID-19,
And over 5 times more likely to die within 21 days of their first positive test result.
The study was conducted by the Lawson Research Institute and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (IC/ES), and published in January 2021 through the Canadian Medical Association. In addition to these startling statistics, researchers found that Ontario’s unhoused population had a drastically higher rate of positive tests, once testing was made available to them. Tests were coming back positive over 75% more frequently for these individuals than people with safe and secure housing.
Statistics reported by The Region of Waterloo The Point in Time (PiT) Count, conducted in September 2021. This number is consistent with current service delivery trends of those accessing and connected to housing focused services. (Performance Measures. Grand River Transit. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.grt.ca/en/about-grt/performance-measures.aspx)
So what can we learn from this?
People experiencing homelessness have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their need to access community based services, and day to day use of congregate living space like shelters and warming centres, puts them at greater risk of exposure. In addition, those experiencing homelessness are at significantly elevated risk of COVID-19 as a result of pre-existing health conditions, lack of education around preventative measures and poor access to healthcare.
Health and housing have always been inextricably linked. Statistics like these make it clear that the unhoused can be categorized among some of our community’s most venerable.
We hope that members of our community are mindful of these realities when accessing public spaces commonly used by those experiencing homelessness (city busses, parks, public restrooms, etc.)
Statistic reported by Grand River Transit (Performance Measures. Grand River Transit. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.grt.ca/en/about-grt/performance-measures.aspx)
We would like to express our appreciation of any safety measures taken when occupying spaces commonly used by those experiencing homelessness. Thank you for being mindful of the realities of your fellow community members.
Learn more about oneROOF Youth Services COVID-19 protocol, here.
Source: Richard, Lucie et al. “Testing, infection and complication rates of COVID-19 among people with a recent history of homelessness in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective cohort study.” CMAJ open vol. 9,1 E1-E9. 11 Jan. 2021, doi:10.9778/cmajo.20200287