With COVID-19 cases on the rise, Gov.
Gavin Newsom said that essential workers are getting sick more often than
others – and one reason for that may be that they don’t have a safe place to
isolate when they become infected.
Armida Campos is back in the
kitchen at Pachitas restaurant. She discussed her battle with COVID-19 through
a translator.
“I was afraid for my mother, my
daughters,” Campos said. “I was afraid because so many people were dying.”
Like many Latinx essential workers,
Campos lives in a multigenerational household, making it difficult to isolate.
Newsom said he wants to expand
COVID-19 services for essential workers, including providing a safe place to
recover.
“Hotel room subsidies we want to
expand. We talked about project roomkey working with the homeless, and we want
to build on the roomkey model and expand it to people who need support and need
to be isolated,” Newsom said.
Campos said she would be reluctant
to leave family.
“It seems like a good plan but at
the same time it’s not because I’d be separated from family,” she said.
Miguel Ramirez said the plan will
help prevent the spread of the virus.
“I know a lot of Spanish people
live together with three or more people in a room,” he said. “If one gets sick
everyone is gonna get sick.”
Newsom said he also plans to expand
outreach so people know help is available. He’s releasing a COVID-19 employer
handbook to get the word out.
“What people don’t know is how they
can get benefits,” said Ramirez.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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