LA installs hand-washing stations for homeless people in Skid Row, North Hollywood amid COVID-19

The City of Los Angeles is trying a new approach to combat COVID-19 among the homeless population.

Workers installed permanent hand-washing stations over the weekend in Skid Row and North Hollywood, allowing anyone access to the stations.

The goal is to promote safety for all during the pandemic.

RELATED: LA County's homeless seeing lower COVID-19 rates than overall population

New data is showing that the homeless population in Los Angeles County is seeing a much lower infection rate for the coronavirus than the overall community.

People experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County are testing positive for the coronavirus at rates far lower than the population at large. The positive rate among LA County's homeless is less than 2%.

A top health official says fears about rapid spread among those who live in shelters and on the streets did not come true.

A leading homeless advocate believes the low rates are because a majority of the county's homeless live outside.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will spend $600 million to convert hotels and apartment buildings into permanent supportive housing for homeless residents.

RELATED: Gov. Gavin Newsom announces $600 million to be spent on supportive homeless housing by end of the year

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a major homeless housing spending program to address the economic impact of COVID-19. On Friday, he revealed a new reopening plan for California, leaving counties to decide how they will respond.

L.A. County on Sunday reported 798 new coronavirus casesand five more deaths, bringing the county's totals to 248,334 cases and 6,005 fatalities.

Officials with the county's Department of Public Health said the low case and deaths counts likely reflect a reporting lag due to the holiday weekend.

The number of people hospitalized in the county continued its steady decline, dropping from 984 Saturday to 966 Sunday. County officials noted that figure is at least a 50% drop from early August totals that topped 2,000.

Testing results were available for 2,373,050 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.