SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento’s Library Galleria is reopening as a warming shelter for unhoused residents following a 10-day closure after staff members and a guest tested positive for COVID-19, city officials said.
The Library Galleria, located at 828 I Street, and another warming center at the Southside Pool House, located at 2107 6th Street, were both shut down on Feb. 18 after a staff member who worked at both facilities tested received a positive test.
The library is reopening at about half capacity – a maximum of 35 guests according to the city – from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and will be operated by First Step Communities, the city said.
According to First Step Executive Director Steve Watters, library staff will have even more stringent protocols to try to prevent any future infections.
Sacramento utilized the safe parking site at the City Hall Parking Garage, located at the corner of 10th Street and I Street, as an alternative after the library and pool house infections. That site will remain open indefinitely.
The Southside Pool House will not reopen because it is too small for the services being provided, the city said, but will continue to work with stakeholders to identify new locations in the future.
The Sacramento City Council is also set to discuss the ongoing homelessness response plan at its meeting on March 2.
First Step Communities also runs the permanent Sacramento County shelter on North A Street in the River District and the Grove Avenue cabin community for transition-age youth in north Sacramento.
Read more from ABC10
WATCH ALSO: When will schools reopen in Sacramento?
