Coronavirus: Hotel closure delays plans to find beds for homeless people in Portsmouth

The government has asked all local authorities in England to find housing for rough sleepers by this weekend to tackle the spread of the virus.

Portsmouth City Council is now asking other hotels to step in. It has not named the hotel involved.

But it comes after Travelodge clashed with government after closing sites cross Britain, giving people staying at its hotels short notice to vacate.

Government has ordered all hotels to close – except those housing the vulnerable homeless.

A spokeswoman for the council said: ‘We are doing everything we can to meet the governments objective to house all rough sleepers and those sleeping in hostels and night shelters.

‘We had arrangements with a hotel in the city which has now unfortunately had to close.

‘We are working with other hotels to find alternative accommodation and will continue to work until every homeless person in the city is housed.’

The news came following an open letter to prime minister Boris Johnson by homeless charity Crisis.

The letter said: ‘People experiencing homelessness, particularly those who are rough sleeping, are especially vulnerable in this outbreak.

‘They are three times more likely to experience a chronic health condition including asthma and COPD.

‘It is therefore vital that they are recognised as a vulnerable group for the purposes of government plannings.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government previously announced a £3.2m emergency fund to help rough sleepers to self-isolate if they were suffering from or at risk of contracting the virus.