
The city of Atlanta is struggling to house its homeless population during the COVID-19 outbreak as tent cities appear downtown and hundreds of homeless people sleep at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

While Georgia officials scrambled to curb the state's coronavirus outbreak - which infected 12,545 and killed 442 so - Atlanta's homeless have largely been left to fend for themselves.

The homeless population is especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because many don't receive regular health care and some have pre-existing medical conditions.

Shelters across the city have shuttered after they could not comply with mandated social distancing guidelines.

But even if the city's shelters remained open, such facilities are often crowded with people and may not be consistently cleaned.

Several homeless people in Atlanta, Georgia, (pictured) were forced back onto the streets during the coronavirus pandemic after local shelters were closed because of social distancing guidelines

Homeless encampments and tent cities were manufactured in downtown Atlanta, with several tents seen underneath the I-75,I-85 and I-20 exchange

The homeless population is especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because many don't receive regular health care, some have pre-existing medical conditions and shelters they frequent are oftentimes crowded

Central Night Shelter in Atlanta shut their doors on March 13 'because of the risk to our volunteers,' director Cathal Doyle told Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

Doyle added that although his shelter didn't have any cases, 90 percent of the men who stay there fit the demographics of being high risk for COVID-19.

Consequentially, the homeless population was forced back onto the streets and erected tent cities across downtown Atlanta.

Photos and video show several homeless people sitting along Marietta Street near an empty parking lot. They plan to spend the night, and possibly many other nights, in that parking lot.

Hundreds of tents have popped up under local highways as officials called for stay-at-home orders and lockdown.

Pictured: Mark Burns, 39, a Navy Veteran from the Gulf War, wore a face mask while asking people for money along a downtown Atlanta this week. He said he's worried about contracting the disease and wore a mask to avoid the illness

Of the 12,545 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and the 442 that died, at least four were members of the homeless population. Pictured: Four homeless people stand near a makeshift tent city under a local highway

Pictured: James Coley, 50, (left) stands next to his wife Destiny Gunnison, 29, (right) in front of one of the new tent cities that have popped up as a result of the city of Atlanta being locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic

In Fulton County, there are at least 1,490 confirmed cases and at least four homeless individuals have tested positive for COVID-19.

Johnny Coverson, a 61-year-old homeless man, told DailyMail.com that he's been homeless for nearly two years and the pandemic has made it particularly difficult.

'People don't want to come around you. They are scared of you. It's really, really hard,' he said, adding that he's 'a little bit afraid of getting the virus.'

'I am 61 years old and have had a long life and have had a decent life up to this point. A lot of people are out of work and I can't find work.

'Today is Easter Sunday. Normally this parking lot would be full of tourists and packed with people. Today there is nobody...Everything is screwed up right now.'

Another homeless individual, Lakwanda Westmorland, 40, said that Good Samaritans have helped feed her and others during the outbreak.

'People are generous and bring us food,' she said.

When asked if the City of Atlanta has done anything to help, Westmorland said that they have given out guidelines on hygiene.

Coverson: 'Today is Easter Sunday. Normally this parking lot would be full of tourists and packed with people. Today there is nobody...Everything is screwed up right now.' Pictured: group of homeless individuals prepare to sleep over night in this empty parking lot on Marietta Street

Six men sit along the curb of Hurt Park, a local park located in downtown Atlanta, after many facilities geared towards the homeless population has been closed down as people practice social distancing

Homeless individuals in Atlanta said Good Samaritans have dropped off food and other needed to supplies to the at-risk community during the pandemic

Pictured: a homeless man standing near one of Atlanta's tent cities points towards an overhead highway that crosses through the city's downtown district

According to Lakwanda Westmorland, a homeless woman in Atlanta, the city has not provided any additional assistance to the homeless population beyond guidelines on hygiene and keep washing and sanitize

According to John Selden, the general manager at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, at least 300 homeless people slept in the overnight terminal by late March, AJC reports.

Usually, the airport houses around 150 homeless people during cold nights, but Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said the problem has grown recently.

'It’s become an even bigger challenge as many of our shelters have closed down and many of the places that our homeless population disperses to are no longer available to them,' she said during a teleconference briefing.

Bottoms said some of the homeless population took MARTA to the airport's domestic terminal to nap, charge their phones or buy food since many restaurants have closed.

Airports workers tasked with cleaning are concerned about the increase of homeless people in the terminal.

Robinson: 'I have seen homeless people in Atlanta before but because of this coronavirus, lots of people have lost their jobs. They don’t have places to go and are out of work and you have a lot of homeless people in Atlanta' Pictured: a homeless person sits inside a tent under a local highway

Officials at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta said an influx of homeless residents have flooded into the domestic terminal to nap, charge their electronics and buy food as other facilities have closed

'We’re dealing with many people who have underlying challenges, quite often mental health challenges,' Bottoms said.

At the moment, Bottoms said people at the airport appear asymptomatic but there's no way to fully gage the situation. Medical centers have been instructed to only test people with COVID-19 symptoms.

Officials have considered using the Atlanta City Detention Center to shelter homeless people, but 'you’re dealing with a population that is often resistant to receiving assistance and, in addition to that, layering on that people just may not want to go into a jail for housing,' Bottoms said.

Atlanta's recreation centers were also considered for temporary homeless shelters during the pandemic, but those facilities are being used to give meals for students.

Bottoms said: 'Everybody says they want to help, right up until the bus pulls up into their neighborhood recreation center. It would be my preference that we use another facility that’s not in the heart of a community.'

Bottoms: 'There are certainly unique challenges related to the homeless population, one being the ability to isolate them if they tested positive for COVID-19'

Pictured: Members of he Blessing Squad, working through the Fountain of Hope Ministries Bankhead, brought water, cookies, treats and sandwiches to homeless people affected by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shut down of the city of Atlanta

Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Public Health announced they would lease a downtown hotel in Atlanta for homeless residents who have COVID-19 or those who are experiencing symptoms and awaiting results.

'There are certainly unique challenges related to the homeless population, one being the ability to isolate them if they tested positive for COVID-19,' Bottoms said.

170 rooms will be used for isolation and quarantine, and homeless residents in the hotel will receive food.

The Georgia Department of Health is set to provide COVID-19 screenings, training and protective equipment.

Homeless residents said Good Samaritans have stepped up to provide food and other necessities while local officials decide the next course of action.

After four homeless residents tested positive for COVID-19, officials have leased part of an Atlanta hotel to house sick homeless individuals who've being diagnosed or are waiting for results. Pictured: A homeless woman and man sit in an empty parking lot in downtown Atlanta

In addition to the hotel, city officials considered local recreational centers and the Atlanta City Detention Center as possible holding centers for the homeless population

Pastor John Robinson with Upcoming Ministries out of Winston, Georgia, was spotted at Hurt Park in downtown Atlanta feeding the homeless.

He said that they have fed around 150 people today, plus 140 people yesterday and 120 the day before that.

'We want to feed at least a hundred people a day,' Robinson said, adding that church members have visited local restaurants to purchase meals for the homeless.

He said: 'We are just trying to feed as many people as we can. It may not be a whole lot, but at least some will have something in their belly. That's all we are trying to do in Downtown Atlanta.'

Robinson admitted Atlanta's homeless crisis has taken a new form under the coronavirus pandemic as millions filed claims for unemployment in March.

'I have seen homeless people in Atlanta before but because of this coronavirus, lots of people have lost their jobs. They don’t have places to go and are out of work and you have a lot of homeless people in Atlanta,' he said.