Wednesday, July 22, 2020 - NEWS RELEASE

SAN DIEGO – With such a low number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego visited Operation Shelter to Home at the San Diego Convention Center to understand how the City, County and regional partners have worked to prevent and mitigate the spread of the virus.

“San Diego’s relationship with our military partners has and will continue to be a strength, including during the global pandemic,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. “All of the steps we’ve taken to prevent the spread of this virus among our homeless population have resulted in very few cases at the Convention Center. We’re proud that Operation Shelter to Home can serve as a successful model that could be replicated to protect our Marines while they learn valuable skills that will ultimately protect our nation.”

The MCRD Commanding General and the command team recently toured Operation Shelter to Home to learn more about shelter operations, disease prevention and mitigation efforts, protocols for maintaining physical distance, and individual safety measures for shelter clients, staff and volunteers. The tour was led by representatives from the City of San Diego and County of San Diego.

"We have proactively taken actions to protect our most vulnerable populations during this pandemic,” said County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, a U.S. Marine combat veteran and co-chair of the County's COVID-19 Subcommittee. “The significant effort put into building out the temporary shelter for the homeless was done using the highest standards, along with significant care and compassion. It’s a good model for how our community comes together during times of crisis.”

The recruit depot, established in 1919 adjacent to San Diego International Airport in downtown San Diego, transforms approximately 18,000 recruits into United States Marines each year and has continued operations throughout the global pandemic. More than 6,000 recruits from communities west of the Mississippi river have arrived at MCRD and safely begun training since the pandemic began. With the ongoing threat of the virus, the team at MCRD has partnered with various civic and governmental partners throughout the nation to share information and best practices to keep recruits, instructors, families and the San Diego community healthy, while continuing the essential mission of making America’s Marines.

“The very unique and historic relationship we have with the San Diego community is something that we value highly, and the opportunity to share information and learn from our local partners is both mutually beneficial and makes our partnership stronger than ever,” said Brig. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage. “Our mission of making Marines is essential to ensure our nation has a ready force of Marines. We have deliberately worked with our partners in San Diego beginning in late February to understand how we can support each other and safely achieve our essential mission. We will continue to learn, adapt and implement lessons from successful programs like Operation Shelter to Home to strengthen our commitment and collectively work together to keep our shared communities safe.”

Recruits are currently quarantined in hotels for 14 days after arriving in San Diego to ensure they are healthy before they begin training. As the pandemic continues, the depot is looking at more cost-effective options to house and provide outstanding medical services to large groups of personnel. The Operation Shelter to Home model offered valuable insight into large-scale support to many individuals at one time.

Operation Shelter to Home launched on April 1 by moving individuals already in shelters into the San Diego Convention Center to allow for proper physical distancing and then began welcoming in unsheltered individuals living on San Diego streets. The shelter currently serves more than 1,200 individuals daily.

Proper hygiene, sanitation and health monitoring are just a few of the precautionary measures being taken to prevent the spread of illness within the shelter. All new clients are screened for symptoms of any illness prior to intake, and clients and staff at the convention center are screened daily by temperature check. Due to proactive COVID-19 testing, only 10 people at the shelter have tested positive out of more than 4,700 tests.

Other preventive measures being taken at the shelter include:

• Screening clients and staff daily by temperature check and verbal questionnaire
• Washing and sanitization of hands upon each re-entry into the facility
• Wearing a face covering when moving about or leaving the Convention Center
• Prevention and safety announcements over a public address system
• Cleaning and sanitizing surfaces and the facility frequently
• Evaluating and isolating individuals exhibiting any symptoms of illness and transferring off-site if necessary
• Reinforce compliance among shelter residents and staff of wearing face coverings, practicing physical distancing and other hygiene measures in the shelter using roaming staff