In May 2019, tents lined a street in Los Angeles. A federal lawsuit filed last week seeks a court order that would require the city and surrounding county to provide thousands of shelter beds for the homeless. (Richard Vogel/AP)

Homeless experts and some federal housing officials are sounding the alarm that the patchwork of government efforts to address the coronavirus outbreak risks leaving out one group of acutely vulnerable people: the homeless.

Housing advocates say they fear an outbreak could occur in large homeless encampments where thousands of people live on the street and lack the ability to self-quarantine, receive medical attention or access cleaning facilities.