Crews from the company Clean Harbors began power-washing sidewalks and street areas with a bleach and chlorine solution in downtown San Diego on Monday as part of an effort to stop the spread of hepatitis A among homeless people. 
 
 The area cleaned Monday included sidewalks around 17th Street and Imperial Avenue, where hundreds of homeless congregate and live in tents and other shelters along city streets. The cleanings will continue in other downtown areas on Wednesday and Friday and repeat every other week. 
 
 A hepatitis A outbreak has left 15 homeless people dead and hospitalized nearly 300 others over the past 10 months. A lack of adequate access to restrooms, showers and hand-washing stations is believed to have contributed to the spread. 
 
 Besides starting the washing program Monday, the city announced it was extending the hours of 14 restrooms in Balboa Park, which will be open 24 hours a day starting Tuesday. 
 
 “By disinfecting our sidewalks and making additional public restrooms available 24/7, we’re following the direction of County health officials to address the unsanitary conditions that have helped fuel this outbreak,” said Craig Gustafson, senior director of communications for Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “We’re taking swift action to eradicate this virus from our streets and keep our most vulnerable residents safe.” 
 
 On Friday, Gustafson said Faulconer expected to announce this week a plan to set up multiple large tents to provide temporary, immediate shelter relief for hundreds of homeless people. Those tents will be equipped with restrooms, hand-washing stations and showers, he said. 
 
 The sidewalk washings and extended restroom hours this week were in response to a letter sent by county health official Aug. 31 asking the city to move forward with a list of specific sanitation actions to help control the spread of hepatitis A. 
 
 The county gave the city five business days to respond with the plan for remedying what it called a “fecally contaminated environment” downtown. 
 
 On Monday, county Communications Director Michael Workman said health officials still were evaluating the city’s response to the request. 
 
 The county also has taken steps to address the outbreak and plans to expand its efforts to other cities in the region soon. 
 
 County health officials already have provided hepatitis vaccinations to 19,000 people, including 7,300 considered to be at-risk of contracting the disease. The county also hired its own contractor to install 40 hand-washing stations in areas where the homeless often gather, and it has plans to install more this week. 
 
 The city has identified three downtown areas to be cleaned every other week. Monday’s areas included the sidewalks along Imperial Avenue below the Interstate 5 overpass, where the city had installed jagged rocks in an attempt to deter homeless people from camping in April 2016. Homeless people still used the site, prompting a need to wash the area. 
 
 The Monday cleaning area also includes streets north of National Avenue, south of F Street, west of 22nd Street and east of 10th Avenue. It also includes several blocks north of F Street and south of B Street between 10th Avenue and 17th Street. 
 
 On Wednesdays, crews will move west and clean streets north of Broadway, south of Fir Street, west of 10th Avenue and east of Pacific Highway. 
 
 On Fridays, crews will clean streets north of Harbor Drive, south of Broadway, west of 10th Avenue and east of Pacific Highway. ||||| SAN DIEGO (CNS) - In the latest effort to house the growing number of homeless in the San Diego region, city officials Wednesday said three new temporary shelters will open, the first one or two by the end of this year. 
 
 "The solutions are not perfect, but they are necessary" said Mayor Kevin Faulconer at a news conference. 
 
 While the city has worked on finding housing opportunities for the homeless, the decision also comes in the wake of a deadly hepatitis A outbreak, which has largely impacted the homeless. Each facility will have more than 100 beds, with restrooms and showers. Service providers will also be on site at all three locations, offering alcohol and substance abuse counseling and job search training. 
 
 
 
 "This represents a significant expansion of our homeless service network and is one of the most immediate and effective actions we can take to provide relief to unsheltered people who are suffering and want help," said Faulconer. 
 
 
 
 RELATED: City, county provide handwashing, vaccines to stop hepatitis A outbreak 
 
 
 
 The homeless population in the city of San Diego has been growing in recent years. In January, 5,619 transients were counted, a 10 percent increase from last year. Of those 3,231 were living on the street. 
 
 
 
 In order to find housing opportunities for the homeless, the city has partnered with individuals in the private sector to fund operation costs. The final price is to be finalized in the coming weeks. But at least two businessmen have offered to donate $1.5 million to help expedite the opening of these shelters. 
 
 Industrial tent shelters will include beds, restrooms, showers, meals & 24-hr security. A temporary solution to the growing homeless problem pic.twitter.com/mN4pwKie71 — Mimi Elkalla (@10NewsMimi) September 13, 2017 
 
 The city has identified shelter locations at: 
 
 
 
 -- the parking lot on Father Joe's Villages campus at 14th and Commercial Streets in the East Village 
 
 -- a vacant lot in the 2700 block of Sports Arena Boulevard, behind the Goodwill store, in the Midway District to be run by the Veterans Village of San Diego 
 
 -- a vacated street at 16th Street and Newton Avenue for a shelter to be operated by the Alpha Project 
 
 
 
 The 16th Street location was used for several years for a tented shelter during the cold weather months. 
 
 There are skeptics of the plan. Joel Rocco, owner of Undisputed Gym in the East Village said he thinks there are too many homeless people in the area for temporary housing to be useful. 
 
 "I don't think it will make a dent, honestly," said Rocco. 
 
 He claims the large homeless encampments surrounding his gym have detracted new clients, hurting his business. 
 
 "Unless this city finds a permanent housing solution, nothing is going to work," he said. 
 
 The mayor said he hopes to have at least one operating by the end of December. The cost of the plan has not been announced. Faulconer said he plans to present a final version to the city council in the coming weeks. ||||| The mayor's morning news conference was scheduled for the parking lot next to Father Joe's Villages, which provides services and indoor shelter for the homeless in downtown San Diego. It is unclear whether the parking lot will be a site for one of the tents or how long it will take the city to get the tent program up and running.
– Declared a public health emergency on Sept. 1, a hepatitis A outbreak in California is only getting worse, the Los Angeles Times reports. There have been 421 confirmed cases of hepatitis A in San Diego County, and 292 people have been hospitalized. Sixteen people have died. The county has vaccinated 19,000 people, and on Monday workers started spraying sidewalks and and streets in downtown San Diego with bleach-infused water to kill the virus, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hepatitis A can be spread when people don't wash their hands properly after going to the bathroom. The current outbreak has hit San Diego's homeless population hardest. The county is installing 40 hand-washing stations where homeless people congregate and is making some public restrooms available 24 hours a day. KGTV reports San Diego will be opening three temporary homeless shelters that, along with beds, will have restrooms and showers. Officials warn it could be months before these new measures show any positive effect on the outbreak.