Homeless camps block business reopenings amid coronavirus pandemic
Reopening problems are occurring in cities, such as Portland, Oregon, as homeless camps are blocking storefronts during the coronavirus crisis; Fox News correspondent Dan Springer reports.
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With states reopening their economies as the coronavirus infection curve flattens, some West Coast business owners have been confronted by homeless encampments outside their storefronts, and many fear the trend will turn away customers.
After months of having their operations restricted by governors' edicts, proprietors have long sought the end of coronavirus-induced lockdowns. But now in parts of Oregon and California, homelessness is the epidemic affecting business.
In Portland's downtown and business district, Fox News' Dan Springer documented recreational tents and other improvised shelters lining the sidewalks.
While police have launched high-visibility bicycle and foot patrols in those areas, some officers kept moving right on past the encampments. According to Springer, crime is up in Portland, notably drug offenses and vandalism.
Portland officials have said they will not remove any tents unless business entrances are physically blocked, criminal activity is evident or there is a biohazard
Oregon, which has a population of 4.2 million people, has just 3,801 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, but the state's unemployment rate has spiked to 14 percent in April, largely due to the lockdown. Before the pandemic, 4,000 Oregonians lived on the streets, but that number has risen sharply in some areas.
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Down the coast in San Francisco, tents have popped up in front of shops and small manufacturing outfits in the Tenderloin district, where management fears customers will not return. In response, the city sanctioned its first homeless encampment on a large plaza near the city hall.
The deteriorating homeless situation in the city has led to an average of 86 public complaints per day since March 12.
Fox News Dan Springer contributed to this report.
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