Homeless deaths in San Francisco skyrocket—COVID-19 not directly responsible, according to authorities

The number of homeless people in San Francisco who died in the last six weeks has skyrocketed compared to the same period last year. According to authorities, overdose of drugs, underlying illnesses, and interruptions to shelters and services may be the cause. Coronavirus pandemic.

Preliminary public health data from the Chronicle does not appear to be directly related to the coronavirus that is spread throughout the city. The number of post-mortem virus tests is unknown.

Thirty-six homeless people (6 on average a week) died in San Francisco from March 30 to May 10, according to Barry Zevin, director of the Street Medicine team at the Department of Public Health. For comparison, 12 people died during the same period last year.

The data is preliminary. The exact cause of death is pending until the office completes the report. But most of the deaths were likely to be related to overdose of the substance, according to Zevin, and were highly concentrated in unprotected people of Tenderloin.

Death did not appear to be directly related to COVID-19, but its number suggests that disruption to services and shelters caused by the pandemic may have been a contributing factor. Zevin said in an interview with Chronicle. San Francisco has dramatically reduced the number of shelters in the last few months so people can stay socially far away and other services such as drop-in centers and community clinics will be shut down, reducing capacity. , Saved time.

“The collective setting is very dangerous in terms of COVID spread, so we made these changes. I think it was the right decision, but it comes with consequences,” he said. “And it hurts so much.”

Some of the death situations outlined by Zevin in an email retrieved by The Chronicle include:

Four people were killed at the Shelter In Place Hotel site. One of the deaths was most likely related to medical reasons and the other three were most likely drug overdose.

One died within hours of visiting the emergency department of the San Francisco General Hospital.

Two people died within three days of being released from prison.

One person who died was positive for coronavirus at postmortem examination, but was believed to have died of the life-threatening infection “catastrophic peritonitis”.

One person has recovered from COVID-19, which was infected as part of a major outbreak in MSC South, San Francisco’s largest homeless haven.

“Awful,” said Matt Haney, director of the district including Tenderloin. “We have a very high mortality rate for people who are usually homeless, and this is exacerbated because people are more confused and disconnected than usual.”

San Francisco has moved more than 1,200 people to hotel rooms, including food and behavior therapy services, on the streets and in densely populated apartment buildings. People moving to hotels are usually elderly and have underlying illnesses that make them more vulnerable to viruses.

Zevin estimates that since mid-March, the DPH Street Medicine team has tripled the usual number of people starting buprenorphine, a drug that helps relieve opioid withdrawal symptoms. He also said that, along with the Homeless Outreach Team and the Centers for Mitigation Therapy, outreach teams like the Street Medicine team are outreaching them on the streets every day.

According to Zevin, the city has outreach and saved many lives by moving people indoors, but thousands in cities suffering from drug addiction, poor hygiene and health. There are people

According to city data, the number of tents and makeshift structures throughout the Tenderloin area exploded by 285% between January and May. Throughout the city, tents and structures increased by 71% during this period.

On the other hand, the fentanyl explosion on the streets of San Francisco had already increased the overdose of drugs in the city. Fentanyl-related deaths have also increased in Santa Clara County, according to county health officials.

“Over the past year or two, fentanyl has changed from something rare in San Francisco to something very common in San Francisco,” Zevin said. “And like in other countries, when fentanyl comes to town, deaths from overdose increase.”

The situation at Tenderloin became so severe that nearby residents, business owners and the University of California Hastings College of Law sued the city in federal court this month. Two days after the lawsuit was filed, the mayor of London We have developed a plan to improve the conditions A neighborhood of 49 blocks, including moving people to camps that have been sanctioned by the Civic Center. The plan also calls for a line every 6 feet on footpaths in densely populated campsites, and more stringent enforcement of social distances.

Still, there seems to be little improvement a few weeks after the plan is rolled out.

“Unsurprisingly, poverty is twice as deadly in this situation,” said Sam Denison, co-director of Faithful Fools, the poverty issue of Tenderloin’s nonprofit struggle.

“Obviously, we need a dedicated health policy that actually investigates the condition of the people who live on the streets and how we address their needs when such emergencies occur. They must not be the last people we think of, they must be the first. “