London Mayor Sadiq Khan's office is partnering with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) to book a large number of hotel rooms at discounted rates over the next 12 weeks. More than 300 rooms will be made available to homeless people to protect them from the Covid-19 virus.
London authorities say homeless people already have underlying health problems, particularly respiratory illnesses. They are also less likely to follow the Department of Health and Social Care's advice to self-isolate, wash their hands regularly and wear masks. So the government hopes that homeless people can self-isolate in their hotel rooms.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "Homeless people already face many difficulties and hardships in life, so I am determined to do everything I can to ensure they, as well as all Londoners, are best protected."
Petra Salva, director of homelessness charity St Mungo's, said their teams were working around the clock to support people during the "unprecedented crisis" caused by the Covid-19 virus. In addition, many London taxi drivers have volunteered to take homeless people to hotels.
Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Taxi Drivers Association, said: "London taxi drivers are there to help those in need. Taxis are ideal for transporting people at risk because they are designed to be easy to clean and disinfect, and have a barrier between passengers and drivers."
However, some homeless people do not use hotel rooms but still sleep at Charing Cross station, making the city's epidemic prevention work difficult.
London is deserted during the epidemic.
Meanwhile, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, many locals and tourists are looking to stay away from central London. On March 20, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered all restaurants, pubs, cafes and entertainment centers to close. Now, if people want to go out for relaxation or entertainment, they will head to the Southbank Cultural Center or Richmond, Battersea and Victoria Park.
