Fact Check: Homeless in Las Vegas sleeping in parking lots during Coronavirus outbreak?

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a terrible turn in the USA where cases have been rising exponentially. With over 240 thousand cases, the USA is currently the country with the highest number of positive cases of coronavirus with six thousand deaths. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, it has reportedly become a priority for the country to provide safe living environments for its homeless citizens. 

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Claim - 

As social distancing became important for people in the USA and across the globe to follow, various internet users started sharing photos which showcased boxes marked on parking lots in Las Vegas. These parking lots were open-air which meant that people sleeping there would have to face the issues which come along with open settings. These photos reportedly put many netizens to a shock and deemed this treatment of homeless people in Las  Vegas to be heartless and inhumane. Some people also pointed out that the photos being circulated on the internet are false. 

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Rating - True

The photos doing rounds on social media are indeed true as the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada had issued a joint statement which revealed that this step has been taken in order to provide temporary safe shelters to the homeless. USA reportedly has over 500 thousand homeless people across the country and a number of them located in Las Vegas. A temporary shelter home will be built for the homeless people staying there. The parking lot shelter setting is only temporary. 

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Origin - 

On Twitter, many users first started circulating photos of the parking lot in Las Vegas which was being used as a shelter for homeless people. These photos received a lot of attention as people wished for the homeless to receive better treatment. Some users also wished for the local authorities to provide temporary shelter for the homeless in the hotels of Las Vegas which have been shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

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Google Trend analysis - 

As the photos of homeless people sleeping in parking lots started going viral on social media, people were quick to search for the same on Google. This resulted in a surge of Google searches. Check it out below - 

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