Telus Convention Centre converted into an emergency shelter hub
Posted Apr 1, 2020 7:40 pm.
EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — The Telus Convention Centre will be opened as a temporary overflow shelter to help the homeless community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There had been issues with shelters housing crowds of individuals, resulting in people to be turned away to try to prevent the spread of the infection to the city’s most vulnerable.
“We have been able to open up a number of overflow shelter spaces,” Premier Jason Kenney said. “The Expo centre in Edmonton, the [Telus] Convention Centre in Calgary, there have also been other facilities to pen up to allow for greater spacing.”
READ MORE: Southwood Care Centre has positive COVID-19 case: notice
The City had originally planned to use hotels and motels to house the homeless, but the provincial government decided against it.
The government has committed $30-million in emergency support for the homeless shelters to ensure that shelter workers have access to personal protective equipment and increased support from Alberta Health Services to train staff on screening procedures.
