Outbreak in San Francisco shelter highlights risks posed by COVID-19 to homeless



Last week, an outbreak of COVID-19 at San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter led to over 90 individuals contracting the virus. In response, the city worked to move residents out of the shelter and into hotels over the weekend. The outbreak followed weeks of dire warnings from advocates that people experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of COVID-19. As an employee of a San Francisco homelessness advocacy organization told the Guardian, the outbreak “was totally preventable and totally predictable.” On Tuesday, lawmakers in San Francisco called on Mayor London Breed to secure 7,000 hotel rooms to house the city’s homeless population during the crisis. Following the emergency ordinance, city officials announced on Wednesday that the city has secured over 1,200 hotel rooms for homeless individuals in the shelter system who tested positive or may have been exposed.

Racial disparities emerge in COVID-19 infections, deaths

Over the past several weeks, public health agencies began to report Coronavirus statistics broken down by racial groups, revealing concerning trends on how the pandemic is impacting black Americans. Reports in the New York Times, Washington Post and ProPublica highlighted data that showed blacks make up a disproportionate share of the population who contracted the virus and the population who died from it. In Washington, D.C., for example, where black residents comprise less than 50% of the population, over 60% of people who died from COVID-19 were black. Although the reason for this racial disparity remains largely unknown, many researchers and advocates have argued that the disparity highlights the need to address the structural racism endemic to many facets of American life, including housing. A recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found evidence that housing discrimination contributes to racial disparities in exposure to pollutants, and a recent report from VICE showed that predominantly black communities in Mississippi that have dealt with toxic industrial pollution for generations face heightened risks from COVID-19. Beyond the health impacts, the economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are also disproportionately impacting black Americans, including their ability to afford mortgage and rental payments.

Affordable housing construction slows amid pandemic



Despite being labeled essential across most of the country, many affordable housing developers are facing work slowdowns as they grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In New York, the Department of Buildings revised its guidelines to clarify what counts as essential affordable housing construction, but many affordable housing developers are still pausing operations as they take precautions to keep their workers safe. Other places where affordable housing development has slowed includes Sonoma County, California and Aspen, Colorado. Overall, homebuilder confidence plummeted in April to its lowest level since 2012, according to the monthly Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.

CFPB releases final HMDA rule

On Thursday, CFPB released a final rule on the implementation of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), exempting additional financial institutions from reporting requirements. The final rule, which will take effect on July 1, also increases the threshold for collecting and reporting data on mortgages under HMDA from 25 to 100 loans. In a statement, MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit praised the final rule, saying “this rulemaking provides significant relief to many of our residential and commercial/multifamily members and has been a longstanding MBA advocacy priority.” Ranking Member Brown, however, issued a sharply worded statement criticizing CFPB for making it “easier to hide discrimination in the mortgage market from regulators and from the public.”