Construction begins on Cashman isolation-quarantine facility
Construction began Tuesday morning on a new isolation and quarantine center to serve at least 350 homeless people at the downtown Cashman Center, just across the parking lot from a temporary homeless center.
The city of Las Vegas and Clark County jointly announced the new complex, which is being built off Washington Avenue just east of Las Vegas Boulevard and is expected to be ready for patients by late Monday.
Called the Cashman ISO-Q (Isolation/Quarantine) Complex, the facility will have separate areas for people who are quarantined because they were exposed to the novel coronavirus and isolation areas for those who test positive and have symptoms as well as those who test positive but have no symptoms.
Clark County is overseeing and funding construction of the facility, and the city will oversee operations and security. The two local governments will jointly fund the complex. It’s unclear how long it will remain in place, according to a news release.
The complex will have an entrance at the stoplight on Washington Avenue across from the Grant Sawyer Building and will be open only to staff and homeless with the appropriate referrals from a shelter or hospital
“This complex will give the homeless a safe and secure place to receive the care they need to get healthy,” County Commission Chairman Marilyn Kirkpatrick said in a statement. “This facility will reduce the number of visits to our emergency rooms and help protect our most vulnerable population.”
The announcement came days after the county and city opened a temporary shelter in the Cashman parking lot to accommodate some 500 men who were displaced after Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada temporarily closed its shelter in response to a client testing positive for COVID-19.
Catholic Charities is expected to reopen its shelter “sometime midweek” after it is sanitized. City spokesman David Riggleman said the temporary shelter in the parking lot will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. through Friday.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.
