一些州出现创纪录的COVID-19病例，拉美裔社区深受其害
周五标志着全国范围内COVID-19病例连续第三天创下新高。包括加利福尼亚州、得克萨斯州、亚利桑那州和佛罗里达州在内的29个州的病例正在上升，很明显，这种病毒并没有平等地影响所有人口。
布鲁金斯学会(Brookings Institution)最近的一项研究显示，经年龄调整后，美国的平均拉美裔人死于COVID-19的可能性是平均白人的2.5倍。《纽约时报》的一项新分析显示，该病毒在至少有四分之一西班牙裔的县的传播速度是现在的两倍多。
对许多人来说，语言障碍和批评者所说的公共卫生官员缺乏即将到来的信息的结合，是美国各社区健康危机不断升级的原因之一
“人们正在实践的是糟糕的科学。他们在利用自己的偏见，”全国西班牙裔健康联盟主席兼首席执行官简·德尔加多博士告诉美国广播公司新闻。“他们对我们的预设信念做出的医疗保健决定不仅会伤害我们，还会增加系统成本，因为劣药比良药更贵。”
“卫生系统现在仍然采用一刀切的方式。这不是真的，”她补充道。“我们在有风险和暴露风险的工作岗位上工作。”
马克西莫·卡布拉尔可能是从他的工作中得来的。这位35岁的男子来自墨西哥的萨卡特卡斯，已经和他的女友及两个女儿在阿拉巴马州生活了三年。卡布拉尔一直致力于开办一家运送食品的小企业。
“我的一年开局不错，因为我成为了美国公民，”他用西班牙语告诉美国广播公司。“但这种病毒到来了，对每个人都不好。”
马克西莫·卡布拉尔来自墨西哥，他感染了冠状病毒。
阿拉巴马州百分之五的人口是拉丁美洲人，但是他们占该州19个案例的百分之十。
“我头疼了三天。我不认为这是病毒，”他说。“我决定在我的伴侣接受检测后接受检测，结果呈阳性。然后…我知道我拥有它。”
卡布拉尔与阿拉巴马州拉美裔利益联盟有联系，该联盟支持该州拉美裔家庭的经济平等、公民参与和社会公正。
德尔加多说，这是一种侵袭了拉丁裔社区“灵魂和精神健康”的疾病。
全美西班牙裔健康联盟的总裁兼首席执行官简·德尔加多博士告诉美国广播公司新闻，一刀切的健康体系是行不通的。
她说:“痛苦是显而易见的，因为当人们不得不在喂养孩子和去一个有风险的工作之间做出决定时，就会产生一种精神健康压力，这只会让个人疲惫不堪。”。
根据加州卫生部的数据，在加州，拉丁美洲人占人口的39%，但在COVID-19阳性病例中占57%。
“我在洛杉矶长大。这是我的社区。我们所服务的社区，我们所服务的病人真的很像我的家人，”洛杉矶郡的急诊医生艾丽卡·弗洛雷斯·乌里韦博士告诉美国广播公司新闻。“我的父母实际上是洛杉矶县的监护人。关于我们如何练习身体上的距离，会出现很多问题，”
乌里韦说，社区正在努力减少获得医疗保健的机会。
乌里韦说:“洛杉矶县的拉美裔或西班牙裔人口数量有所增加，COVID-19对他们的打击相当大。”。“我们的社区占据了许多重要的劳动力职位。这限制了远程工作或带薪病假的能力。在文化和经济上，我们的社区占据着多代同堂的住房，因此很难隔离或隔离。”
艾丽卡·弗洛雷斯·乌里韦医生是洛杉矶县南加州大学医疗中心的急诊医生。她在洛杉矶长大。
德尔加多说，隔离与这些社区的文化形成鲜明对比。
“即使当人们有收入和空间时，告诉人们自我孤立在某种程度上是反文化的，”她说。“这需要大量的重组。这很难做到。你要告诉你的祖母，你知道，她不能和别人一起吃饭吗?”
在马里兰州，拉丁美洲人仅占人口的10%，但占24%冠状病毒根据州卫生局的说法。
在那里，卡迪安·加西亚帮助马里兰保护选民联盟养活了大约100到120个家庭。
“这些人资源有限。他们靠薪水过活，”她用西班牙语说道。“如果他们不工作，他们就会错过餐桌上的那块面包。”
加西亚说，一些家庭失去了工作，其他家庭的病毒检测呈阳性。
马里兰州保护选民联盟的志愿者坎迪达·加西亚一直在帮助向有需要的家庭分发食物。
“这就是为什么我决定帮忙，因为我看到了它的必要性，”她说。
在犹他州，拉丁美洲人占其人口的14%，但根据其卫生部的统计，却占其冠状病毒病例的43%。
犹他州参议员卢斯·埃斯卡米拉说，她开始呼吸困难，但起初没有资格进行COVID-19测试，因为她的症状还不够严重。
“你的身体疼痛，我是说，一切——你的脖子，你的背。那是我丈夫开始感到不舒服的时候，”她说。三天后，“我们都在医院。在48小时内，也就是我们测试后的48小时内，我们的结果出来了，我们两人在COVID-19上都取得了积极的结果。”
她将矛头指向白宫对危机的处理，称其行为对拉美裔社区具有“歧视性”。
犹他州参议员卢斯·埃斯卡米拉说，她没有资格进行COVID-19测试，因为她没有发烧，但她经历了其他痛苦的症状。
德尔加多说:“如果你在美国，并接受免费的COVID检测或治疗，它不会作为公共费用而对你不利。”。“这并不意味着人们不害怕。我的意思是，鉴于过去几年政府对待移民的方式，很难信任政府。”
埃斯卡米拉同意了，他说，“没有信任。当你想到政府来了，说‘嘿，我们会照顾你的’，我不确定你是否觉得这是安全的
她说她的一些选民对关闭经济和被迫戴面具感到愤怒。
“我只是想让你想一想，当你不知道自己可以进入重症监护室的时候。想想这有多可怕。你觉得不舒服，”她说。“你得到了COVID-19，但你不知道是否会有足够的床位让你和你爱的人走进医院接受治疗。这就是我们正在谈论的。”
乌里韦表示同意，并敦促公众坚持安全准则。
“重要的是，如果我们要出去，洗手，练习身体上的距离，并且保持大约6英尺的距离，我们就要戴上面罩，”她说。
Latino communities suffer as some states see record numbers of COVID-19 cases
Friday marked the third straight day of record high cases of COVID-19 nationwide. Twenty-nine states, including California, Texas, Arizona and Florida, are seeing cases rise and it’s clear once again the virus is not hitting all demographics equally.
A recent study from the Brookings Institution showed that adjusted for age, the average Latino in the U.S. is 2 1/2 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the average white person. A new analysis from The New York Times showed the virus is spreading at more than double the rate in counties that are at least a quarter Hispanic.
For many, the combination of a language barrier and what critics say is a lack of forthcoming information from public health officials is contributing to the spiraling health crisis in communities across the U.S.
“What people are practicing is bad science. They are using their biases,” Dr. Jane L. Delgado, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, told ABC News. “Their predisposed beliefs about us make health care decisions that will not only hurt us, but it's going to cost the system more, because bad medicine costs more than good medicine.”
“The health system now still uses one size fits all. And that's not true,” she added. “We work in jobs where we're going to be at risk and be at risk of exposure.”
Maximo Cabral may have gotten it from his work. The 35-year-old is originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, and has been living in Alabama for three years with his girlfriend and her two daughters. Cabral has been working on opening a small business delivering food.
“My year started off well because I became a U.S. citizen,” he told ABC News in Spanish. “But this virus arrived and it’s been bad for everyone.”
Maximo Cabral, originally from Mexico, fell ill with the coronavirus.
Five percent of Alabama’s population is Latino, but they make up 10% of the state’s COVID-19 cases.
“I had an awful headache for three days. I didn’t think it was the virus,” he said. “I decided to get tested after my partner got tested and it came back positive. Then … I learned I had it.”
Cabral is connected to The Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, which champions economic equality, civic engagement and social justice for Latino families in the state.
Delgado said it’s a disease that has struck the “soul and mental health well-being” of the Latino community.
Dr. Jane L. Delgado, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, told ABC News a one-size-fits-all health system isn't working.
“The pain is palpable, because when people have to make a decision between feeding their children or going to a job where they would be at risk, that creates a kind of mental health stress that only wears the individual down,” she said.
In California, Latinos make up 39% of the population, but 57% of COVID-19 positive cases, according to the state’s department of health.
“I grew up in LA. This is my community. The communities that we serve, the patients that we serve are really like my family,” Dr. Erika Flores Uribe, an emergency physician for Los Angeles County, told ABC News. “My parents are actually custodians in the LA County area. There's a lot of questions that come up in terms of how do we practice physical distancing?”
Uribe said the community is grappling with less access to health care.
“LA County has seen an increased number in Latinx or Hispanic populations hit pretty hard with COVID-19,” Uribe said. “Our communities occupy a lot of essential workforce positions. This limits the capacity to do telework or to have paid sick leave. Culturally and financially our communities occupy multigenerational housing, so that makes it really difficult to isolate or quarantine.”
Dr. Erika Flores Uribe is an emergency physician at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. She grew up in Los Angeles.
Isolation runs directly in contrast to the culture of these communities, Delgado said.
“Even when people have income and space, telling people to self-isolate is sort of in some ways countercultural,” she said. “It requires a lot of restructuring. And it's very hard to do that. [Are] you gonna tell your abuela -- grandmother -- that, you know, she can't eat with other people?”
In Maryland, Latinos make up only 10% of the population, but 24% ofcoronaviruscases, according to the state’s department of health.
There, Candida Garcia helps feed about 100 to 120 families with the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.
“These are people with limited resources. They live paycheck to paycheck,” she said in Spanish. “If they’re not working, they’re missing that loaf of bread at the table.”
Some families have lost their jobs, others have tested positive for the virus, Garcia said.
Candida Garcia, a volunteer with the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, has been helping to hand out food to families in need.
“That’s why I decided to help, because I saw the need for it,” she said.
In Utah, Latinos make up 14% of its population, but 43% of their coronavirus cases, according to its department of health.
Utah state Sen. Luz Escamilla said she started to have difficulty breathing but didn’t qualify for a COVID-19 test at first because her symptoms weren’t severe enough.
“Your body aches, I mean, everything -- your neck, your back. That's when my husband starts feeling sick,” she said. Three days later, “we were at the hospital, both of us. And within 48 hours, literally 48 hours from the time we tested, is when our results came back, both of us with a positive result on COVID-19.”
She took aim at the White House for its handling of the crisis, saying its actions have been “discriminatory” against Latino communities.
Utah State Senator Luz Escamilla says she didn't qualify for COVID-19 testing because she didn't have a fever, but she experienced other painful symptoms.
“If you are in the United States and you go for free COVID testing or treatment, it will not be held against you as a public charge,” Delgado said. “That doesn't mean that people are not fearful. I mean, it's very hard to trust the government given the way the government has treated immigrants over the last few years.”
Escamilla agreed, saying, “There's no trust. When you think about government coming and saying, ‘Hey, we'll take care of you,’ well, I'm not sure that you feel that's safe.”
She said some of her constituents are angry about closing the economy and being forced to wear masks.
“I just want you to think about the moment that you may be in a situation where you don't know that you can have access to a ICU bed. Think about how scary that is. You feel sick,” she said. “You get COVID-19, but you don't know [if] there's gonna to be enough beds for you and your loved ones to walk into a hospital and get treatment. That's what we're talking about.”
Uribe agreed, urging the public to stick to the safety guidelines.
“[It's important that] we wear face coverings if we're gonna go out, wash our hands and practice physical distancing and stayed about 6 feet away from one another,” she said.
