Study yields COVID-19 strategies for homeless

Researchers sought out to discern whether an onsite testing and treatment model for the flu in homeless shelters could be used in other congregate settings to prevent spread of the respiratory infection Then COVID-19 hit.

Dr. Helen Chu, associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, explains that her team was able to add coronavirus testing to observe how the virus entered and was transmitted through the shelters. The biggest lesson: Most of those people who tested positive were asymptomatic.

"The best way to find cases of coronavirus is by sampling everybody – not restricted to only people who have symptoms, but actually to test everybody in the entire shelter," Chu says.

Julia Rogers, a first-year Ph.D. student in epidemiology, also discusses the lessons learned in the video below.

Details in our news release.

 

UW Medicine