Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Organizing the Latino community living in the U.S. is key to demanding greater protection and prevention from authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Inés María Quiñones Ortiz, a member of the San José County Neighborhood Defense Committee.
According to Inés Quiñones, the number of infected people has increased in San Jose County, since, to date, it is estimated that there are more than 51,000 people infected, of which 54.4 percent belong to the Latino community.
"In our experience, we know that most of the Latino people who have been infected are Mexicans, which is why we want to have a meeting with the Mexican consulate, to see if they can give us more specifics," he said.
In that sense, he mentioned that they require more information about affected Mexicans, if the people who have died have moved to Mexico and if they are taking other measures to help Mexicans, as stated by the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
"We are going through that process, which is very bureaucratic, so that we can work with each other to protect people. To make them aware that we have to protect ourselves. We're going to do that follow-up according to their protocol, and if we don't succeed we're going to insist, because that data is necessary," he added.
He also added that many times people do not go to the places where they do COVID-19 tests out of fear, due to their immigration status, "and if that is happening we want to know if the Consulate is offering other types of help so that they can take these types of tests.
On the other hand, Inés Quiñones commented that they have also noticed that the people who care for the elderly have complained because not only the elderly are dying, but they are also dying because they don't have enough equipment to protect themselves.
As such, he explained that since the authorities are not doing their part to protect and prevent contagions among the Latino population, they had to take to the streets to tell people through informative posters about the importance of following health protocols.
Among them is keeping an appropriate distance from others, because when people stay within 6 feet of each other then there is less risk that saliva spray from talking, coughing or sneezing can spread to others.
Another measure to prevent contagion is the use of masks, however, he has seen that many people when they leave work remove them and get into their car or take other people, so the protocols are no longer useful and the virus spreads.
"In Santa Clara, the most infected people are those between 19 and 40 years old, so we are seeing that young people are the ones who are getting infected the most. They are our children and that is dangerous because they are the future of our communities," he said.
On top of that, there are Christmas and New Year's celebrations coming up, and the hospitals are already overcrowded, which means there won't be enough space or equipment to care for all the people who need it.
"The organization that comes from the community is the one that is going to make the change. When we criticized that there were not enough places to do exams, the authorities began to mobilize. The organization of the people is the key to get the authorities to mobilize," he said.
In that sense, he said, the Mexican model has been very successful because it always keeps everyone informed about the number of cases that exist daily, as well as the measures that should be followed in health matters.
"That's why it's important for us to talk to the Consulates, so that they do the same here, so that they mobilize and do what they have to do on behalf of the Mexican community," he concluded.
