WINNIPEG -- Close quarters, sharing food and a lack of access to hygiene products puts Winnipeg's homeless population at a greater risk for catching COVID-19.

To ensure the safety of the city's most vulnerable, organizations across the city put their heads together and teamed up Friday afternoon.

Siloam Mission, one of the organizations protecting the homeless, is making sure its shelter is ready for COVID-19.

"We have 110 beds here that are filled to capacity here every night and so of course we are paying that much more attention to overall cleanliness," he said.

Cleanliness is important, but Bell said plans still need to be put in place for what to do if someone in the shelter is suspected of having COVID-19.

"If we ever had to turn somebody away, we have to make sure people are looked after," said Bell.

To determine what to do in that situation, the Extreme Weather Committee, a group of organizations normally tasked with keeping the homeless population warm during dangerous periods of cold, is now the COVID-19 Coordinated Response Planning Committee.

The newly tasked group held its first conference call Friday afternoon.

"We'll have to look at essential services and coordinating what that means for different service agencies," said Lucille Bruce, the CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg. 

Working with Winnipeg emergency response officials and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, the possibility of a separate COVID-19 shelter isn't out of consideration.

"We may have to look at how do we isolate them, how do we provide space for them to be accommodated in regards to their health needs," said Bruce. 

As for Siloam Mission, all efforts are going towards making sure it can stay open.

"We are paying as close attention as we can so that we can take care of folks that need us and our staff," said Bell. 

The shelter is holding daily meetings and sharing information with other organizations to ensure it stays up to date on the situation.

Bell said that with the added strain of COVID-19, more donations of cash and hygiene products are needed.