Coronavirus Pandemic Makes Cooling Off from California Heatwave a Struggle

RANCHO CORDOVA, KOMPAS.com – The coronavirus pandemic has made cooling off from the California heatwave difficult for Debera Diaz and her son Joshua. 

Air-conditioned public venues have shut down making it inaccessible to cool down inside malls and movie theaters. 

Their town of Sacramento was facing dangerously high temperatures of 109 degrees Fahrenheit last week.

The mother-son duo has been living in Debera’s Honda Civic for a few months following her divorce and eviction.

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Nowadays, they are grateful to find a cooling center in City Hall, complete with masks, and “The Devil Wears Prada” movie playing.

"You can't even go to the library," said Diaz, 58. "It was really bad."

The coronavirus pandemic presents vexing challenges for officials trying to protect residents from extreme weather conditions.

Many places people usually go are closed, and public cooling centers like the one in Rancho Cordova can only accept half the normal number of people because of physical distancing requirements.

Staying with relatives or friends is also difficult because of health concerns.

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At the same time, however, officials worry that fears of catching the virus will keep some vulnerable people from seeking shelter from extreme heat, or even seeking out evacuation centers when wildfire threatens.

Protecting residents from extreme conditions is an issue that increasingly confronts cities and counties across the United States, as storms, heat and wildfire force thousands to seek refuge.

Many experts are even more concerned about how to shelter vulnerable residents from extreme cold should the pandemic still be raging in the winter.

"It's changed how we approach this as a city," Rancho Cordova Mayor David Sander said of the pandemic. In previous years, churches and nonprofits opened their doors to people seeking shelter, but now many are either closed or unable to help, he said.