Kingston advocate says unhoused not adequately protected from recent COVID-19 outbreak

A Kingston, Ont., housing advocate is calling on public health to further address a recent COVID-19 outbreak affecting people experiencing homelessness within the city.

As the outbreak worsens, Chrystal Wilson, who has gained a name for herself over the last two years as the voice of the unhoused in the city, says she has been taking on things like testing herself.

Before speaking to Global News at 11 a.m. Friday, she said she had already tested four people within the unhoused community that day who all tested positive for COVID-19. By late afternoon, Wilson said she received 14 positive test results.

As of Friday afternoon, KFL&A Public Health was reporting one new case, with a total of 16 cases of COVID-19 linked to an outbreak at the city’s Integrated Care Hub, which serves the city’s vulnerable population, but Wilson believes the number of cases goes beyond what is being reported.

“I got my hands on some rapid testing kits and I’ve been going out and testing, and I know now another agency is helping us by testing in encampments,” she said.

For their part, KFL&A Public Health called the outbreak “low risk” Friday, and said that health officials have been working to adequately test the unhoused population over the last week.

“All partner agencies have been notified and testing is being offered onsite to individuals who have been exposed and also testing has taken place at other community service organizations. Many agencies are working together to assist those who test positive with isolation,” a statement from the health unit said.

Wilson argues that testing of the unhoused community has been inadequate since it relies on people presenting themselves to either the Integrated Care Hub or to the Beechgrove testing centre, rather than tests being brought to where people are.

She says the homeless population is mobile and transient, and also distrustful of the health-care system, factors that keep people away from presenting themselves for testing.

“They’re afraid of getting in trouble and being stigmatized,” she said.

1:10 COVID-19: Outbreak declared at Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub, 11 cases associated

Moreover, Wilson has taken issue with the current options for isolation set up for those in the unhoused community who do test positive.

“They’re afraid because they don’t have a place to go that they would feel safe… we really need to step up and find a better solution for isolating people,” she said.

Currently, she says there are two official options for isolation for unhoused people in the city. One is a motel room, which Wilson said is offered to people who do not have substance use issues. The other option is trailers being run by the Integrated Care Hub.

Wilson said the trailers group several people together and are lacking adequate heat and bedding — factors that keep people from coming forward if they are presenting symptoms.

Wilson was careful not to blame the Hub for their isolation efforts, saying she believes those working there are doing the best with what they have.

“It’s not a reflection of the Integrated Care Hub. Public health and the city should be stepping up and providing a proper isolation center for the unhoused community, one that has people that can help take care of them,” she said.

2:03 Kingston’s mayor says steps are being taken to address resident concerns living near the Integrated Care Hub

In an interview with Global News Thursday, Gilles Charette, executive director of HIV, Aids Regional Services Kingston, which operates the Integrated Care Hub, noted that the outbreak did not stem from the hub, rather, it’s circulating within the local unhoused community as a whole.

He said serving the vulnerable communities who need the regular care the hub provides, as well as managing a COVID-19 outbreak, has been complex.

“We’ve got now a group of individuals who we need to provide care for who are isolating, and a group of people who we are providing services for who we don’t want to contract COVID. It’s a pretty sophisticated thing to try to coordinate. But we’ve got great partners at the table who are working together to make that happen,” Charette said.

Rather than blaming those already trying to care for vulnerable populations dealing with the threat of COVID, Wilson is calling on the city and public health to pony up what she thinks are better strategies to protect homeless populations, like mobile testing and access to singular isolation locations.

Wilson also took particular issue with something said by the new medical officer of health Dr. Piotr Oglaza Thursday.

1:46 Cases in Kingston region jump to levels not seen since May, 2021

He told media that the health unit did not put out a notice for the hub outbreak because the unhoused community was “a fairly isolated group” with very little interaction outside of their community. Oglaza said this made it easier for contract tracers to track transmission within that population.

Wilson sent a letter to Oglaza Friday arguing that the unhoused population “connects to all parts of the broader Kingston community.” She argued that leaving cases potentially untracked, like she is claiming, puts the larger community at risk for COVID transmission.

Oglaza did not speak to the letter Friday, but the health unit issued a statement supporting the medical officer of health’s sentiment from the media briefing.

“While this is a transient population, the risk of exposure to the general population from cases among this group is low and does not warrant public notification,” the health unit said.

Oglaza also told media that the majority of those testing positive linked to the Integrated Care Hub were not fully immunized, and the health unit, along with other community partners, have been making strides in getting more vaccines into arms among the unhoused population, especially since the outbreak was declared.

“It’s typically been a harder group to reach out to. We’ve been offering immunizations to this group from the early stages of the vaccine rollout, understanding the vulnerability of individuals under these life circumstances,” he said.