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Salas, Diana From: Carson Capps <ccapps@lawnet.uci,edu> Sent: Friday, April 03, 2020 12:28 PM To: eComment Subject: Public Comment Re: Closures of Public Restrooms Dear Santa Ana City Council Members and Staff, My name is Carson Capps and I am a student at University of California, Irvine School of Law and a concerned resident of Orange County. I am part of a team of students that have been monitoring several cities in Orange County to see what measures they are taking to protect low-income and homeless populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am writing today to express my concern regarding the closure of public restrooms. Many cities are closing public facilities, including parks, as a measure to prevent further transmission of the virus. I have seen that as of April 2, Santa Ana has closed even more of its public facilities to discourage gatherings. This is an admirable step to take to protect those who are fortunate enough to have somewhere to shelter in place, but different considerations must be made for homeless and housing -insecure populations. Many people depend on these public facilities, now more than ever. In light of the recommendations passed down by the World Health Organization to "Do the Five," including frequently and thoroughly washing your hands, to halt the spread of the virus, access to public restrooms is particularly important for these populations. The CDC has recommended that homeless populations avoid crowded shelters during this time, so many people are left with no other option but to depend on public restrooms for personal hygiene. For those homeless people who are in shelters or camps, the virus is almost certain to spread quickly, and treatment will inevitably be difficult to come by for these populations. As of April 1, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach have both agreed to keep some public restrooms open to the homeless populations to help halt the spread of COVID-19. 1 urge you to follow their lead, and make an effort to inform homeless populations of the available facilities. The more Orange County residents who become infected, the longer the pandemic will continue. Please consider taking further steps to protect our most vulnerable populations. 4A