Santa Rosa's Sam Jones Hall homeless shelter will re-open to new occupants starting Friday.
Santa Rosa’s only city-owned shelter was forced to close its doors in July after a COVID-19 outbreak quickly spread through the facility due to the rise in the delta variant.
The outbreak infected 116 of the 153 residents of the shelter, according to City of Santa Rosa spokesperson Adriane Mertens.
Two shelter occupants died of COVID-19 complications. They had underlying pre-existing health conditions.
Now, roughly half of the facility’s population is vaccinated, and staff have enacted a number of changes in the last few weeks.
The facility now has rapid testing to quickly identify cases, new social distancing measures have been taken, including reducing the number of beds available by 90. A new isolation area has also been added for positive or symptomatic cases to wait before being taken to an alternative care site.
"This will allow staff to better identify potential positive cases and to ensure individuals who do test positive are able to receive the appropriate level of care," said Mertens.
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