Coronavirus: Councils in England asked to house all rough sleepers by the weekend

Councils in England have been asked to house all rough sleepers – and those in hostels and night shelters – by the weekend.

The prime minister’s personal homelessness adviser wrote to local authorities telling them “communal night-shelters and any street encampments” must be “closed down for the time being” as they are “high risk” for spreading COVID-19.

Dame Louise Casey said the aim is that “everybody can have an offer of accommodation by this weekend” – and that Whitehall will offer “support and advice” to help.

The government confirmed the news several hours after Sky News broke the story.

Rough sleepers have faced a particularly tough time in recent weeks given the latest lockdown advice for people to stay at home.

They are also significantly more likely to have underlying health conditions – including respiratory problems – than the wider population.

But on Thursday Dame Louise wrote to council homelessness managers and rough sleeping coordinators: “As you know, this is a public health emergency