What you need to know about COVID-19 in Waterloo region on March 21

There is one new case of COVID-19 in Waterloo region as of Saturday morning.

The notice on the region's website says this case — the 15th in the region — is a male in his 20s who contracted the virus through close contact with someone else who had the coronavirus.

The man was tested at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener and is self-isolating at home.

Of the 15 cases in Waterloo region, just one person is hospitalized. The rest are self-isolating at home.

New measures to help homeless

The region also announced Saturday new measures to help people who are homeless during the pandemic.

The region will open a fully-staffed isolation space and it will "imminently start receiving people who are homeless and showing symptoms of COVID-19." 

The region did not provide specific details on the location of the space but said they're using local hotels.

People who are homeless who need to access those isolation spaces will be directed where to go, said Ryan Pettipiere, director of housing services for the region. 

People can be screened at local shelters, which the region are supporting so they can be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sanguen Health is screening people using their community health van.

Public washrooms are also being opened for people who need to use them and the Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for people to take shelter from the weather and use the washrooms.

Pettipiere said the region moved as quickly as it could to get these supports in place. He said at a time when other services are slowing down or closing, they were trying to ramp up.

"For the last week, members of this community and folks who work in this sector have been working flat out, non-stop" to get things in place, he said, citing a "tremendous community response" to getting supports in place.

Food for those in need

When it comes to getting food to people, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region said Friday it has put its pandemic plan into place and has reduced the number of access points to food, but are ensuring those locations can serve everyone.

On Saturday, the region said "food hampers and meals will be delivered to people with low income who can't leave their home" starting this upcoming week.

"This program can also serve people who are homeless if emergency shelters and other agencies become unable to."