Sacramento warming centers to stay closed as three more positive COVID-19 tests confirmed

Sacramento’s homeless warming centers will remain closed through the end of February after three more people tested positive for the coronavirus, for a total of four COVID-19 infections connected to the centers.

The warming centers at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria and Southside Park pool house were closed Thursday after one employee working at both locations tested positive for coronavirus. On Saturday, city officials announced that two workers and one homeless guest who were at the Library Galleria site also tested positive.

“County Public Health on Saturday notified the city that three more people who had been at the Library Galleria warming center had tested positive and directed the city to close the centers for 10 days starting Feb. 18,” said a city news release sent out Saturday evening.

Although many City Council members have appeared at the warming centers, none of the elected leaders have tested positive, the city said. It was not clear if the workers who became infected were city staff or volunteers.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Councilwomen Angelique Ashby and Katie Valenzuela, and City Manager Howard Chan — all of whom worked at the Library Galleria warming center — have tested negative for the virus, according to city officials. On Friday, Councilwoman Mai Vang was still awaiting the results of a test.

In a statement, Steinberg voiced support for the temporary closure, citing concerns over further infection.

“We as a city will do everything we can to support the three warming center workers and one guest who have tested positive,” he said. “There are risks to bringing large numbers of people indoors. There are also serious risks if we leave hundreds of people outdoors every night with nowhere to get warm. ... This is necessary to make sure nobody else is infected at that site.”

Steinberg added that he supports the city’s efforts to open new sites for overnight stays.

“This will better allow us to be cautious about the maximum number of people housed at each site on any given night, so we can ensure adequate spacing and better protect our workers and guests,” Steinberg said.

Valenzuela, who represents the city’s central district, said the closure is frustrating, but said the city is hoping to open one or more new warming centers in the coming days.

“This is a delicate balance,” she said. “I get that bringing people indoors doesn’t make sense from a COVID-19 perspective, but when you have wet and cold weather like tonight, when it will dip below 40 degrees, it is not safe for folks to be outdoors either. We are threading this needle between reducing the exposure to a deadly virus and ensuring that people have a warm, safe place to sleep.”

The City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 27 during an emergency meeting to open warming centers as temperatures plummeted, putting unsheltered people at risk from a vicious winter storm that buffeted the region. The warming centers had been operating nightly from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. prior to the infections.

City officials had taken steps to prevent COVID-19 spread at the warming centers: Guests were required to wear face coverings except when sleeping, and rest areas were physically distanced.

The warming centers were given a deep cleaning on Friday following the first positive test result, according to city officials. A free COVID-19 testing site was also opened at Cesar Chavez Plaza for warming center guests to visit. On Friday, 33 people were tested at the site, and some results are still pending. Contract tracing is also underway.

Officials also opened the City Hall Parking Garage at 1000 I St. on Friday for anyone who would have spent the night at the warming centers. The garage will remain open, according to city officials.

The Bee’s Tony Bizjak contributed to this report.