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In March 2020, when social distancing was the norm for dealing with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic, social media users began sharing -- and questioning -- photographs said to show boxes marked on an open air Las Vegas parking lot to indicate where homeless persons could sleep while maintaining proper social distance from each other: Many viewers considered such pictures unbelievable (or heartless), especially given the large amount of vacant hotel rooms available in the city due to the cessation of nearly all tourist activities during the pandemic: These photographs were real, however. On March 28, the City of Las Vegas and Clark County issued a joint news release in which they announced the creation of a temporary homeless shelter in the parking lot of the Cashman Center multi-use facility. That announcement was prompted by the temporary closure of an existing area homeless shelter after a homeless man who had used their services tested positive for the coronavirus: As NBC News reported, the bare concrete surface of the parking lot was used due to concerns about the use of carpeting and the unavailability of easily disinfected mats, another aspect of the situation that drove criticism: It'll be an open-air facility that will allow [homeless persons] a safe facility to come in [to]. Spend the night, especially since Catholic Charities [usually] takes in about 500-plus persons a night, said Ward 5 City Councilman Cedric Crear. Our goal is not to turn anybody away.
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