It’s morning at the National Western Complex in Denver, and a line has begun to form at the front door. Weary-looking men wander up slowly, some from nearby tent encampments, others via a white school bus shuttling them in from an overcrowded shelter. Toting overstuffed backpacks or tattered blankets draped around their shoulders, they wash their hands, have their temperature taken–as is required–and answer some questions: Have you had a cough, sore throat, or fever recently?
Nearby, in a makeshift triage tent, two nurses wait with nasal swabs, testing anyone symptomatic for the novel coronavirus before sweeping them off to a hotel room to quarantine as they await results. DID YOU KNOW Homeless individuals are two to three times more likely to die from the coronavirus, twice as likely to be hospitalized, and two to four times as likely to require critical care. The others shuffle…
