Homeless Chileans facing the pandemic: an impossible quarantine

A Right to Low-Income Housing in Chile

Homeless Chileans facing the pandemic: an impossible quarantine
The request of the Government of Chile to the homeless to take shelter in "their houses" and wash their hands repeatedly, generates controversy and mockery among the population.

While the Chilean scientific and political authorities call not to leave homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, for thousands of people in Chile their home is the street and basic measures, such as frequent hand washing, are far from their possibilities.

However, the Chilean Minister of Social Development and Family, Sebastián Sichel, ignoring the social situation in his country, asks people on the street to protect themselves in their homes.

"We have asked people on the street to go home," Sichel said.

How long are you going to make fun of people? They ask the homeless to return to their homes, is the demand of an indignant society that protests against the mismanagement of the current Administration chaired by Sebastián Piñera.

    Medical College of Chile criticizes the Government's management before COVID-19

"The health conditions of people who live on the street and the places where they live predispose them to have more illnesses than the general population," says Dr. Francisco Idalsoaga, general director of the Fundación Salud Calle.

Chileans continue their protests against Sebastián Piñera | HISPANTV

Chileans continue their anti-government protests that have been going on for more than 5 months despite the threat of the coronavirus.

In Chile there are more than 14 thousand people on the street, according to the latest data from the social registry prepared by the Ministry of Social Development and Family.

"It is a population that has a poor nutritional status, and that they also have diseases that have not been treated, making them more likely to contract the virus," explains Francisco Román, executive director of the Gente de la Calle Foundation.

Due to the material reality in which they live, facing the pandemic caused by COVID-19 becomes a much greater challenge than for the rest of the Chilean population. "Measures such as taking shelter in houses or washing hands repeatedly are impossible," he adds.

The Chilean government decreed a catastrophe on March 18, in an attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus, which already affects 1,142 infected people and 3 deaths.

COVID-19 is spreading in Chile in a situation that this country, since October 2019, is the scene of massive anti-government protests. At least 32 people have lost their lives and thousands have been injured by the police during these marches.

    WHO warns that the new coronavirus is already a "pandemic"

Power To The People - John Lennon/

A Right to Low-Income Housing in Chile