Durham city leaders respond to uptick in COVID-19 cases in Hispanic community

Members of North Carolina's Hispanic Community said they are struggling and many aren't able to get the supplies they need to stay safe.

Posted 4:18 a.m. May 14, 2020 — Updated 4:18 a.m. May 14, 2020

Lora Lavigne

, WRAL Durham reporter

Members of North Carolina's Hispanic community said they are struggling and many aren't able to get the supplies they need to stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak.

"Siembra NC" recently polled more than 300 Spanish-speaking immigrants living in Central North Carolina. Here are some of the big takeaways:

42 percent said they have not been able to secure a mask or face covering and would like to have one.
70 percent said their most urgent need was paying rent,
69 percent said they live in a household where at least one person has lost work.

This comes just a day after Durham's health department released new numbers showing an alarming uptick of cases in the Hispanic community. Local leaders are taking measures to help turn the trend around.

The Department of Health director Rodney Jenkins said COVID-19 is an equal opportunity threat.

The CEO of the non-profit El Centro Hispano is witnessing this in her own community. She has joined the Durham Recovery and Renewal Task Force to help curb the spike in numbers. Pilar Rocha-Goldberg spends much of her time providing education, health and well-being and economic development resources to the Hispanic community.

“In the job, they are not getting the personal protection equipment they need," Rocha-Goldberg said.

She said this demographic is being hit hard by the virus because of existing health disparities.

“The health disparities that we see regularly are worse in these cases when people have fear of going to get tested, also because of the stigma, the information they have to share and everything," she said.

The lack of health insurance, high-risk jobs or the lack of employment are all factors into what’s hurting their community the most.

“We want to make sure we get into all the nooks and crannies to provide that awareness that they need, Jenkins said. "In effort to ensure that they’re getting the care that they need. For them to understand that COVID 19 is nothing to run away from or be ashamed of."

In a recent joint city-county meeting, officials announced they’ve gathered experts from Hispanic-Latino organizations to help better promote and obtain resources.

“When we go out, we don’t see a lot of our community members using the masks," Rocha-Goldberg said. "We believe it’s because of lack of information and also lack of resources to show them how to properly use them or why we need to use them."

County officials also reported that the Hispanic community has seen the highest reduction in household income so far. El Centro Hispana will begin helping people with rent and utilities to meet those needs as well.

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