Homeless people may be twice as likely to be hospitalized and up to three times more likely to die if infected by the coronavirus, according to a new report that recommends New Orleans acquire hundreds of rooms to quarantine its growing homeless population.

“Even before the COVID-19 crisis came upon us, there were already emerging crises in the homeless population,” said Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania social scientist and co-author of the report with researchers from the University of California and Boston University.

The homeless population has been growing, reaching more than 2,150 in the New Orleans area, and getting older. Most adult homeless people are between 55 and 65 years old, an age group with high susceptibility to the virus. Homeless adults also have more serious underlying health problems than the general population. Diabetes and high blood pressure are especially prevalent among New Orleans homeless residents, further increasing risk of serious illness or death from the coronavirus.

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New Orleans health officials don’t know how many homeless people have contracted the coronavirus, but their population is a major concern, said Sarah Babcock, director of policy and emergency preparedness for the New Orleans Health Department.

“We know they’re more likely to contract COVID-19 and develop serious illness,” she said. “The presence of chronic illness is high … and it’s also the nature of the way they live — often in communal settings and tight-knit groups or in shelters.”

Late last month, the city and state cleared out large homeless encampments in New Orleans as an emergency measure meant to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. About 190 homeless people were taken to the temporarily closed Hilton Garden Inn on Gravier Street in the Central Business District and given access to rooms, bathrooms and three meals per day. About half of those people were later moved to a hotel in New Orleans East amid concerns about unsafe and unhealthy conditions and lax social distancing enforcement at the Hilton.

About two dozen homeless people suspected of having the virus are being housed at Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego.

Quarantining homeless people in hotels, trailers and other private accommodations is the “ideal scenario” for stemming the spread of the coronavirus within the homeless population, the University of Pennsylvania-led report said.

However, the number of units needed is high and likely to be very expensive. The report estimates an additional 400,000 units are needed to manage the pandemic in the U.S. In Orleans and Jefferson parishes, nearly 900 more units are needed in addition to existing shelters and other accommodations for homeless people. Even with the new rooms provided by the two hotels and Bayou Segnette, the New Orleans area could need 650 to 700 more units.

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The full cost of acquiring and managing the recommended 900 units during the pandemic could total $26 million, according to the report.

Covering those costs wouldn’t be easy for New Orleans. The city faces a $150 million deficit due to the coronavirus, with sales tax revenue plummeting amid the closure of restaurants, bars and other businesses. Basic service providers, including the Sewerage & Water Board, could face bankruptcy, Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned last week.

The city and state expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the costs of the two hotels. The city has no plans to acquire additional hotel rooms.

Babcock said the homeless advocacy group Unity of Greater New Orleans is trying to find additional funds for rooms. Unity's leaders were not ready to announce additional room acquisitions on Wednesday.

Halting the pandemic among the homeless population isn't just about saving the lives of people without homes, said Bechara Choucair, chief health officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals and an expert on homeless health services.

"The reality is that allowing people to live on the street, unsheltered, in poor conditions is not the right thing to do to our fellow human beings," he said. "But it's also a threat to the wider community because it allows the virus to continue to spread while the rest of us shelter in place."