Barriers to Care: ‘Why Humboldt’s Latinx Population is Being Hit Disproportionately Hard by COVID-19’

This is a press release from the Community Voices Coalition:

A Paso a Paso vehicle loaded with produce and ready to make the delivery rounds to its local Latinx and Hispanic clients. [Credit: Submitted]

By Iridian Casarez/Community Voices Coalition

Standing in Eureka’s La Pasadita Market on a recent afternoon, Isabel Ortiz says she’s had a hard time getting information on COVID-19, how to prevent its spread and what to do if she or someone she knows starts experiencing symptoms. Ortiz, who works at the market, only speaks Spanish and most of the COVID-19 information she’s seen has been in English. She says it would be a good idea for local officials to translate important information for those in the Latinx and Hispanic communities who don’t speak English. She says she’d been planning to go to Eureka City Hall to ask for some but hadn’t had the chance yet.

But even if Ortiz had made it there, she wouldn’t have found much in Spanish, as City Clerk Pam Powell says the city just sends folks looking for COVID-19 information to Humboldt County Public Health’s website, adding that the department also has interpreters on staff who could help people find information.

Officials believe stories like Ortiz’s may help explain why at least 22 percent of local confirmed COVID-19 cases have been found in Latinx and Hispanic community members, even though they make up just 12.2 percent of the local population. Humboldt County’s white residents, meanwhile, account for 83 percent of the population but just 44.3 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

In a recorded Q&A with the local media late last month after Humboldt County first released COVID-19 case data broken down by ethnicity and race, Health Officer Teresa Frankovich said the disparity is not lost on officials.

“Locally, the most dominant effect is a disproportionate amount of cases in our Latinx community and to that issue we have been really trying to work on outreach to the community,” Frankovich said. “Obviously, there may be language barriers and so we’re really trying to address that, and really trying to get information out so that people are aware of what precautions need to be taken and what they can do if they become ill.”

But Frankovich’s message might not be getting through to those in most urgent need of the information.

Engelberto Cejeda, who owns El Pueblo Panaderia, says that the problem is that there aren’t any places he can find Frankovich’s media availabilities translated in Spanish, or even an outlet that’s a clear channel for translated COVID-19 information.

“I turn on the television and try to watch the local news, but I can’t understand,” Cejeda says. “It would be nice to see [Frankovich’s reports] translated into Spanish. It doesn’t have to be everyday. It can just be on weekends.”

According to Meriah Miracle, who supervises Humboldt’s COVID-19 information call center, the county has two Spanish speaking representatives available every hour that the call center is open, adding that these representatives help translate frequently asked questions and walk callers through information on the Humboldt County homepage to find translated fliers that can be shared on social media. These interpreters also work with Public Health on contact investigations involving Spanish-speaking residents, she says.

The Latinx and Hispanic communities aren’t the only ones locally who face a language barrier. According to the U.S. Census, 11.8 percent of Humboldt County households speak a language other than English at home, including 6.8 percent that are Spanish speaking households. According to the Humboldt County Office of Education, 2,000 of Humboldt County’s approximately 16,000 K-12 students come from households where English is not spoken at home. Recognizing the information gap, a group of Lao and Hmong volunteers translated COVID-19 fliers and fact sheets from Public Health and included paper copies in a massive food distribution effort to those communities in May.

Humboldt County is far from unique in seeing case disparities. Statewide, Latinx and Hispanic people account for 55 percent of COVID-19 cases, while only making up 39 percent of the state’s population. Nationally, they account for 33.5 percent of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but just 18.5 percent of the population. Additionally, data indicates they disproportionately face critical outcomes and death as a result of the disease. The data is also limited to people who self-reported race or ethnic information on a questionnaire at the time of testing, which, in Humboldt County, 40 percent of positive cases did not, according to Miracle.

Nonetheless, there is ample evidence large disparities exist and a language barrier is only one possible reason, according to Caterina Kein, program supervisor for Paso a Paso, which is run through St. Joseph Health and offers support services to the county’s Latinx and Hispanic populations.

“When we’re looking at those who are disproportionately affected by COVID, then we also know that there are underlying health conditions,” Kein says. “And not just physical health, but also mental health and whole health, as well — housing stability, economic health and access to care are all variables that make people more vulnerable to essentially contracting COVID.”

In Humboldt County, Latinx and Hispanic households are more likely to live below the poverty line than their white counterparts, and half as likely to own a single-family home. And while Hispanic and Latinx workers make up 12.7 percent of the local labor force, according to the American Community Survey, they disproportionately fill the types of service sector jobs that can lead to more COVID-19 exposure and were hardest hit by initial layoffs.

“With the decline of service industry jobs, we are looking at additional financial, economic and housing barriers to families that may not be able to access state and federal benefits or safety net programs due to their documentation status,” Kein says.

And the disease and reverberating impacts have only exacerbated existing inequities, as Kein notes that some of the families her program serves are “mixed-status” families — families that have documented and “questionably documented” people in their households — and thus may have been left out of the federal stimulus funding measures and don’t receive other benefits.

The economic disparities only serve to widen the information gap, Kein says, explaining that barriers that existed before the pandemic are now enhanced. She says some of the more rural Latinx populations don’t have access to broadband internet and are dependent on pre-paid data cell phones, meaning some have to choose between staying in touch with families or researching health and safety information.

Across all demographics, 19 percent of Humboldt County residents don’t have internet at home and 10 percent don’t have a computer, according to the Census, rendering simple self-diagnostic COVID-19 tools and other crucial information inaccessible.

Paso a Paso’s bilingual staff — which for 20 years has worked to provide childbirth education, breastfeeding support, parenting classes, home visits, resources referrals and support groups — is keeping up with its participants to brief them on developing COVID-19 information through phone calls, text messages, Zoom classes and doorstep drop-offs. However, that effort only extends to program participants, which total 4,212 to date this year.

The program is also helping its participants obtain personal protective equipment, teaching about health and safety precautions, and how to navigate the new tele-health doctor visits. Some clients who are homebound due to job losses or illnesses get assistance with grocery runs for necessities like food and household items.

Like Paso a Paso, Open Door Community Health Centers — the largest local healthcare provider — is working to get information to the Spanish speaking community.

Open Door’s Latino Health Coordination Program has dedicated staff in Humboldt and Del Norte counties who work to develop relationships in the Latinx communities, CEO Tory Starr said in an email.

Starr said the health system uses a Promotores de Salud model for patient connection, which sees Spanish-speaking staff offer Spanish speakers a swath of services, from translation to health education. Additionally, Starr said Open Door is collaborating with St. Joseph Hospital and area nonprofits to try to ensure Spanish-speaking patients have all the help they need to access educational materials, testing, community resources and coordinated care, as well as to participate fully in Public Health contact tracing efforts.

Jennifer Judge, Open Door’s member services programs manager, said the clinic’s partnership with Public Health also makes it so Open Door’s staff can help Spanish speakers who have tested positive for COVID-19 with whatever they need for care coordination and recovery. For example, if they don’t have health insurance, Open Door staff helps them obtain it. Starr said it’s simply vital for Open Door staff to be as connected as possible to provide Latino patients, as well as the broader community, with services that are “culturally and linguistically appropriate.”

“The language barrier issue is more complicated than simply providing materials in Spanish; materials that are created for the mono-lingual English speaking community may not take into account access to resources, health literacy and a number of other social determinants of health factors,” he said.

In her own experience, Judge says she knows what it was like to be an interpreter for her mom during doctor visits and parent-teacher conferences.

“I understand that sometimes you don’t have all the tools to provide people with the information in their preferred language but health is very important, and to communicate that in their language and set them up for the same opportunities that anyone that speaks English has is very valuable,” she says.

As Starr and Judge point out, effective outreach to the the nearly 12 percent of local households that don’t speak English at home is a challenge that requires extensive outreach in addition to translation, as non-English speakers are unlikely to visit the county’s website or follow the Joint Information Center on social media. But it may prove a crucial component of making sure the Latinx and Hispanic communities don’t continue to suffer disproportionate impacts of a deadly disease.

During another recent media Q&A, Frankovich said the Joint Information Center’s goal is to reach out to the Latinx community.

“In a community where English may not be the first language, it’s really challenging to make sure people have the information they need to make the decisions and to understand how to access, for instance, testing and services they need,” she said. “It’s certainly been a target for our Joint Information Center in terms of trying to reach out in all kinds of avenues to get people that information in the language that’s appropriate, and I’m hoping we’re making headway in that respect.”

Note: The Community Voices Coalition is a project funded by Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation to support local journalism in generating truthful, courageous and equitable stories covering vulnerable and traditionally underrepresented communities affected by the coronavirus in Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte and Curry counties. Project stories produced by the North Coast Journal newsroom will be done with full editorial independence and control.

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81 Comments
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Willie Bray
Guest
3 years ago

🕯🌳Thank you Oliver for putting out that information. 🖖🇺🇸

Alf
Guest
Alf
3 years ago

With the way COVID is spread, their are cultural reasons why it is spreading to the Hispanic community that aren’t completely language related. Their culture is very gathering oriented. For me, stay home with immediate family only means my kids, wife and myself. For Hispanics, it seems to extend to cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. and so on. This has been true of Asian culture as well. The Asian family next door to me consistently has huge family gatherings which happened right through the stay at home orders (and she works in the medical field). Language may be part of the barrier, but in a family gathering of about 30 people, there has to be at least one individual who understands well enough to know the order means actual immediate family, so maybe there is a lack of communication among the extended family as well as an unwillingness to change their culture temporarily.

The truth is that more effort is definitely needed to break through these barriers, regardless of the cause. The health of the community as a whole is more at risk because of it.

A concerned citizen
Guest
A concerned citizen
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

It could be that hispanic families value their personal cultural habits of large family gatherings more than they trust the health mandates to be effective.

enough already
Guest
enough already
3 years ago

What about latiny and latinz?

Latinoforlatins
Guest
Latinoforlatins
3 years ago
Reply to  enough already

Latinx is such a highly offensive term to actual latinos and latinas.

Nice to know mental illness gets front row seating these days.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
3 years ago

Isn’t latino culture known for being quite machismo? Isn’t applying gender neutral terminology to a machismo culture whose words are even either male/female extremely offensive and non-PC?

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago

just to clarify PC is offensive. i think that was the goal in the first place

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

Yeah I never got on board with it. Too complicated and I don’t have the time to worry about someone getting offended anyway haha.

well . . .
Guest
well . . .
3 years ago

The only things she says that we need to know is that we should not gather with people outside our households, wear masks in public, and if you feel sick call a doctor. VERY hard to believe a language barrier is at issue communicating those few and simple points.

But yes translations should be provided for those who are not tech savvy enough to copy and paste into google translate.

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

We have Spanish speaking TV and Radio stations, aren’t they putting out info.?

It seems most would have family or friends in one of the station areas below. I know I can get Spanish speaking stations at my house.

Here are a few.

LoCO Staff / Tuesday, March 24 @ 7:52 a.m. / COVID-19 and Humboldt
Información Sobre COVID-19 en Español: Centro del Pueblo, Access Humboldt Produce Local Spanish-Language Program on the Pandemic

Bustos, Amador
President
Z-Spanish Radio Network
KZSA-FM (Original Mexican)
KZMS-FM (Original Mexican)
1436 Auburn Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95815
916/646-4000

KZWC-FM (Original Mexican)
1340 Willow Pass Road # 200
Concord, CA 94520
510/825-9000

KZSF-FM (Original Mexican)
340 Brannen Street # 101
San Francisco, CA 94107
415/284-9200

KHOT-AM (Original Mexican)
KZFO-FM (Original Mexican)
1832 Van Ness Avenue
Fresno, CA 95420
(219) 268-2625

KZCO-AM (Original Mexican)
KJAZ-AM (Original Mexican)
2854 Olive Hwy
Orville, CA 95966
(916) 533-3700

KZSJ-AM (Original Mexican)
267 South White Dr.
Suite 165
San Jose, CA 95148
408/223-3130

KSQR-AM (Romantic)
KQBR-FM (Original Mexican)
1620 Carpentar Road
Sacramento, CA95351
209/529-1900

KTDO-FM (Original Mexican)
KLOC-AM (Original Mexican)
6820 Pacific Avenue, #3
Stockdon, CA 95207
209/474-0154

KAFY-AM (Original Mexican)
1760 Chester Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301
209/268-2625

Bustos, John
President
Spanish Radio Network
KZMS-FM (Spanish)
KTDO-FM (Spanish)
Madesto, CA 95351
(209) 529-1900

Camarillo, Mateo
President
Central Coast Communications, Incorporated
KKLF-FM (Spanish)
KIEZ-AM (Spanish)
1188 Padre Drive, Suite 202
Salinas, CA 93901
408/643-1540

KJDJ-AM/KRQK-FM (Talk/Music)
KSBQ-AM (Rock/Pop)
604 East Chapel
Santa Maria, CA 93454
805/922-3312

Caballero, Eduardo
President
Caballero Spanish Media Radio, Incorporated
KSUV-AM/FM (Spanish)
KRME-FM (Spanish/Adult Contemporary)
3701 Pegasus Drive, Suite 102
Bakersfield, CA 93308
805/393-0103

De la Rosa, Rene
President
Oro Spanish Broadcasting Company
KIQI-AM (Spanish)
2601 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415/648-8800

Deluna, Abel
President
Moon Broadcasting Incorporated
KRRS-AM (Spanish)
Box 2277 Suite 104B
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
707/545-1460

KOJJ-FM (Spanish)
165 N.D. Street, Suite 3
Porterville, CA 93257
209/781-5343

Gomez, Nelson
President
All American Broadcasting
KNTO-FM (Spanish)
KBYN-FM ISpanish)
4043 Deer Road
Hughson, CA 95326
209/883-8700

Oaxaca, Fernando
President
Coronado Four-County Broadcasting, Incorporated
KNSE-AM (Spanish Contemporary)
8729 E. 9th Street
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909/981-8893

Rodriquez, Alberto
President
Radio Fiesta Corporation
KAZA-AM (Spanish)
Box 1290
San Jose, CA 95108
408/984-1290

Suarez, Amancio
President
Hispanic Media Group
KZPM-AM (Spanish)
1706 Chester Avenue, Suite 311
Bakersfield, CA 93305
(805) 323-5239

Valdez, Jaime Bonilla
President
Quetzal Bilingual Communications, Incorporated
KURS-AM (Spanish)
296 H Street, 3rd Floor
Chula Vista, CA 91910
(619) 427-5877

KLNA-FM (Spanish)
KTTA-FM (Spanish)
1021 Second Avenue, 2nd. Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Villalobos, Hector
President
TGR Broadcasting
KTGE-AM (Spanish)
KLFA-FM (Spanish)
548 East Alisal Street, Suite A
Salinas, CA 93905
408/759-3759

KLOQ-AM (Spanish Language)
548 East Alisal
Salinas, CA 93905
408/757-1910

Thirdeye
Guest
Thirdeye
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

With the wide coverage of Spanish-speaking media it appears that a language barrier does not account for the disproportionally high rate of infection among Hispanics statewide. I’m more inclined to agree with the cultural explanation. Hanging out with La Familia Grande is a deep tradition that conflicts with social distancing and avoiding gatherings. One thing that struck me about the people who were protesting the shutdown last March was how many of them were Catholic.

avenuerider
Guest
3 years ago

I think you guys just pull these stories out of your asses!

I strongly dislike low lifes
Guest
I strongly dislike low lifes
3 years ago

If go to a another country I don’t expect public service announcements, or for that matter anything, to be in English, and I don’t think people that are here should expect anything different.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago

Maybe not. However, we all benefit if those among us are the healthiest they can be.

And, I remember my gratitude when our family went to Germany for the fellow who took pity on my trying to figure out the instruction in the laundromat and not only got me started but wrote them out in English and posted them. Kind people make the world a better place.

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Yes. But then would you have expected the German government to have mandated that dual language instructions be posted? Or did you acknowledge that the problem was yours and were grateful for the help?

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Guest

If I was there in the middle of a pandemic, there were thousands of English only speakers and I thought that everybody would benefit from me and those other English speakers staying healthy, I would hope for everyone’s sake, the information would be put out as widely as possible.

And, again, I’m for governments being kind also. So, yep, helping people who speak another language seems like a good way to spend my tax money. I’m less thrilled with spending money to be unkind…you know, like dropping bombs.

Alf
Guest
Alf
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

I’m all for the kindness part. Back in my Baja travels I was always appreciative of those who offered assistance in English. The difference to me is the kindness versus demand. I’m not much help in the language department personally, but have had on many occasions assisted people by finding a bilingual person to assist or used language line. It is when someone gets upset and starts demanding their rights that I have a problem. At that point kindness is no longer part of the equation.

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

When working in a publc position one of the hardest things I got to learn was that a calm response to an agitated person was often the best way to establish a long term collaborative relationship with people who were desperate for some help. People are often somewhat offensive if their needs are not being met.
If other people expressing their distress brings our kindness to an immediate end, we are not really very resilient– our kindness is fragile.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  b.

You’ve reminded me of something important, b. Comments that are harsh are often a way of expressing distress and internal pain. Having been doing this for almost 13 years, I am getting pretty snappy. I’ve lost some of my kindness (hopefully only online). I’ll try to work at strengthening my kindness muscle.

Bubba
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Sorry kim overthinking u r please practice commonsense most likely help your day to day

Alf
Guest
Alf
3 years ago
Reply to  b.

What I was saying is the demand ends the request for kindness. I always try to practice kindness even to the demands of others. In my 15 years working for the County I had only 3 people I choose to terminate from my caseload because of demanding behavior, and none were immediate. It took 3 years of being abused by one of them and the others were long term as well. That’s a pretty good record for the thousands I served.

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

When you used the sentence ” At that point kindness is no longer part of the equation.” my sense was that you were overstating a truth in a way that leads to fewer options for you and likely a worse outcome. Of course the kindness you have been offering is no longer fully available; you have to decide the value of offering kindness and be fair to yourself. However, just because someone else expresses distress doesn’t mean any of us have to take kindness out of the equation. We still get to choose.

The approach (not necessarily yours, Alf) that says, you’re bad so I don’t have to treat you like a human, or, we have a misunderstanding so I don’t have the option of using my intelligence or my kindness– that approach gets everyone stuck pretty fast, pretty often. I hope that’s not what you are advocating.

A concerned citizen
Guest
A concerned citizen
3 years ago
Reply to  b.

Alf was clearly stating how it is for him. You lecturing him on how he ought to behave is an example ofwhat makes the schism between left and right grow larger.

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago

blaming b. for the great schism is a bit reactionary.

b. was just asking people to be kind.

replies like yours, though, do make your side look bad. that’s all.

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago

Hey, “concerned”, which am I? My estimate is that I’m a little of both, since my primary political allegience is to solutions that work for the good of all (supposedly but not really a liberal principle) and to the minimum amount of government to keep the experiments simple and non-intrusive (I haven’t seen a conservative candidate in almost 30 years).
I was suggesting moderation of thought and language to someone who seems to have a “right” leaning perspective. Does that make me a leftist? Maybe it was the idea that thinking is a good idea, or being considerate of those in distress that makes me a leftist in your mind.

A long time ago some conservatives had a gentle and polite side that considered ideas on their merits. Barry Goldwater got smeared for both some intemperate language on foreign policy but also for disagreeing on tactics for advancing civil rights (which he actually had a personal commitment to).
Nixon realized that Goldwater’s conservatism on the METHODS of civil rights was heard as a racist dog whistle, and added Goldwater’s rhetoric to his McCarthyist bullshit. He also spoke the words of isolationism while pursuing imperial aims. Thus “conservatism” became the hodge podge of vitriol, reactionary but globalist governance, and periodic worship of a glorious past that never really happened.
Everybody’s got to stand somewhere, so with conservatism being next to meaningless, liberalism has taken on everything else, which would be OK, except that the Democrats are corporatists that aren’t very good at anything else.

Mexican girl
Guest
Mexican girl
3 years ago
Reply to  Guest

You are living in a place that was MEXICO 170 years ago. You knew that, right?
The original state constitution mandated all laws and all state business be in spanish & english.
How quickly we can become insular & xenophobic.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Mexican girl

not true.

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

California once declared itself an independent country—for a month.
On June 14, 1846, American settlers in Sonoma rose up against the Mexican authorities who governed the territory and declared the establishment of the independent California Republic. The rebels fashioned a makeshift flag with a lone red star and a crude drawing of a grizzly bear. Unbeknownst to the leaders of what became known as the Bear Flag Revolt, however, the United States had already declared war on Mexico, and when American Commodore John D. Sloat seized Monterey and raised the American flag over the city, the rebels gave up their notion of independence only weeks after it began and declared their allegiance to the United States.

https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-california

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

Search Results
Featured snippet from the web
Mexican forces attacked U.S. forces, and the United States Congress declared war.

Mexican–American War.
Date April 25, 1846 – February 3, 1848 (1 year, 9 months, 1 week and 1 day)

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

Mexico had issued a proclamation that unnaturalized foreigners were no longer permitted to have land in California and were subject to expulsion.[115] With rumors swirling that General Castro was massing an army against them, American settlers in the Sacramento Valley banded together to meet the threat.[116] On June 14, 1846, 34 American settlers seized control of the undefended Mexican government outpost of Sonoma to forestall Castro’s plans.[117] One settler created the Bear Flag and raised it over Sonoma Plaza. Within a week, 70 more volunteers joined the rebels’ force,[118] which grew to nearly 300 in early July.[119] This event, led by William B. Ide, became known as the Bear Flag Revolt.

As Spanish authorities colonized Alta California, they established twenty-one Franciscan missions and four forts, or presidios, to bring the native inhabitants of the region under control and to provide for security and defense. Today, the missions and presidios are among California’s most popular historic landmarks, and enduring reminders of California’s Spanish and Mexican past.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Mexican girl

so what

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

Outnumbered militarily and with many large cities of the Mexican heartland including its capital occupied, Mexico could not defend itself in conventional warfare.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, by diplomat Nicholas Trist and Mexican plenipotentiary representatives Luis G. Cuevas, Bernardo Couto, and Miguel Atristain, ended the war. The treaty gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, established the U.S.-Mexican border of the Rio Grande, and ceded to the United States the present-day states of California, Nevada, and Utah, most of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. In return, Mexico received $15 million[204] ($443 million today) – less than half the amount the U.S. had attempted to offer Mexico for the land before the opening of hostilities[205] – and the U.S. agreed to assume $3.25 million ($96 million today) in debts that the Mexican government owed to U.S. citizens

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Mexican girl

Constitution Required English and Spanish Documents

W.E.P. Hartnell was the official translator for the Convention. Section 21, Article XI of the 1849 Constitution decreed that all laws must be published in Spanish and English. Thus, for its first 30 years, California was a bilingual state. This provision was not included in the 1879 Constitution. The Spanish translation was written on 45 pages of heavy white paper, measuring 7 1/2″ x 12″.

https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/collections/constitutions/1849-constitution-facts/

fist these things that are being discussed are not laws. second i highly doubt the mexican government had any such law, maybe the spanish government did, but i still cant find any info on it

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Mexican girl

Spanish concern about Russian colonial intrusion prompted the authorities in New Spain to initiate the upper Las Californias Province settlement, with presidios (forts), pueblos (towns), and the California missions. After declaring their independence in 1821 the Mexicans also asserted themselves in opposition to the Russians: the Mission San Francisco de Solano (Sonoma Mission-1823) specifically responded to the presence of the Russians at Fort Ross; and Mexico established the El Presidio Real de Sonoma or Sonoma Barracks in 1836, with General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo as the ‘Commandant of the Northern Frontier’ of the Alta California Province. The fort was the northernmost Mexican outpost to halt any further Russian settlement southward. The restored Presidio and mission are in the present day city of Sonoma, California.

Canyon oak
Guest
Canyon oak
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

Thanks for the info taxpayer.
Pre-American California is an interesting subject that is misunderstood by many who conflate the Spanish colonial era With Mexican rule..

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Canyon oak

correct

The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its successful war for independence but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War.

thats probably less than 27 years of mexico rule

Thirdeye
Guest
Thirdeye
3 years ago
Reply to  Mexican girl

*Yawn* Yes, for all of 27 years, and the Mexican colonists were outnumbered by all the other nationalities who inhabited Alta California. Louisiana and the upper Midwest were once French colonies too, and that land went for a lot less than the land ceded in the Guadalupe Hidalgo settlement.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Thirdeye

actually mexicans or latinos didnt become the minority (in the areas they occupied) until the gold rush but my main point is mexicans really didnt go past their forts and missions. funny part is that america paid for land that they already conquered. they were talking about taking all of mexico for america but the racist democrats decided they didnt want that many mexicans but america did give mexican families very big rancherias as part of the acquisition of the land instead of trying to kick them out

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

Another problem for the Americans was that the native peoples of the entire area were revolting. They needed the Mexican government to control its native people and to focus on controlling the rebellions in the north. So the treaty had provisions guaranteeing the rights of people who were subject to both governments.

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

I agree with Kym!

We all benefit from everyone being informed.

However I think more people are informed than the article indicates.
Where are they getting their numbers? The sources are pretty vague….self reporting??

It kinda reeks of the on going I’m the biggest victim rant of the left….no me…no me! reminds me of dialing for dollars.

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

I agree with both sides of this. Anyone planning on permanently living in another country should try to learn the language of that country. This isn’t optional. If you move somewhere, you need to make an honest effort to learn the language and customs of the country you’ve moving to. I’d be perfectly happy if this were made a requirement for citizenship or permanent resident status except for cases of asylum seekers, bringing elderly over to live with a child for care, and similar exceptions.

However, this a public health emergency, and there are apparently people who at least claim they’re unable to receive important information due to a language barrier. Since slowing a pandemic requires all people to understand and follow important information, an effort should be made to provide information in languages commonly used in the local area.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
3 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Actually it is. Its called assimilation…you can read all about it here.

https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/educators/naturalization-information

Alot of the border jumpers don’t give a f*ck about our customs and speaking our language, they deem the process “too hard.” Thats why they immigrate illegally, then they have the gall to make demands of our country and then call us racist when we don’t want to meet those demands. Step 1, learn english, all of you, not just one member of the family, then lets go from there.

Connie Dobbs
Guest
Connie Dobbs
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

How fortunate it was that you were able to meet them halfway by being able to read English.

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
3 years ago

I had a spanish teacher back in highschool(she was also the french teacher), she was an awesome lady, she was from Sweden, and she was fluent in 7 languages. She had a great teaching style, was very good at her job, and she always told her students one thing: Learning the language of the people whose country you are visiting is the highest form of respect you can show to them. That one statement encouraged all of her students who had a desire to travel to try to learn the language of whatever country they were traveling to. As a result of that great bit of wisdom, I am fluent in 2 languages and know a decent bit of a third. I always try to learn at least enough to get around of the language of whatever country I am going to visit. That being said, I’m pretty turned off by people who don’t know english in America, especially if they have been here for over a year, I find that extremely disrespectful and absolutely inexcusable.

If it has to do with public health i.e. natural disasters, crazy people, diseases, the announcement should be made available to everybody, in whatever language necessary, so that we can all look after ourselves.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago

yes public health. the problem with that is they can see pictures of people wearing masks, they see others wearing masks, its pretty obvious. then if someone gets sick they can go to the hospital. if they want info on where to get tested i am sure they can find that info at a hospital also.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act requires hospitals receiving federal funds – and that includes all hospitals – to provide language services to patients with limited English proficiency. Services could mean telephone translators, bilingual staff, professional on-site translators or video translators,

memy selfavdi
Guest
memy selfavdi
3 years ago

Also those prone to diabetes (including poor who can’t afford healthy food and the knowledge and prep time it takes) are at higher risk of Covid-19 so I suspect there are more reasons than just language, especially given all the sources listed in comments here.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago

Have you ever taken a bit of Spanish and run it through an online translator…? The resulting English is pretty difficult to parse.

Me
Guest
Me
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Not really , google translate is pretty good. Also, the virus is in Mexico too . I’m having a hard time believing they aren’t getting any info on it for the past 4 months.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

We’re looking into what we can do with this–sparked by you or by some other commenter yesterday. One of my free-lancers speaks Spanish and we were thinking we could use translate and her to at least hit the major COVID announcements.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

Página principal de la enfermedad del coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)

Recursos de comunicación

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/index-sp.html

Documentos de guía
video icon

Videos
photo icon

Biblioteca de Imágenes de Salud Pública (PHIL)
file alt light icon

Recursos para imprimir
comment medical light icon

Anuncios de servicio público
passport light icon

Recursos para viajeros
tools icon

Recursos para poblaciones con conocimientos limitados de inglés
comment alt medical light icon

Respuesta al COVID-19 de los CDC

head side mask icon

Preguntas frecuentes relativas a la prevención y el control de infecciones asociadas a la atención médica para el COVID-19

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/index-sp.html

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

Seems like this link would work at the top of each post by the “experts”

https://multco.us/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-information-multiple-languages

COVID-19 Information in Multiple Languages

ASL (American Sign Language)

Videos: COVID-19 Information in ASL
አማርኛ (Amharic)

ድርሻዎን ያድርጉ: ኮቪድ˺19
العربية (Arabic)

العربية
Burmese

ကို႐ိုနာဗိုင္းရပ္စ္ သတင္းအခ်က္အလက္
Español (Spanish)

Información en Español
中文 (Simplified Chinese)

新型冠状病毒相关信息
繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)

新型冠狀病毒相關信息
Chuukese

Porausen COVID-19 non fosun Chuuk
فارسی (Farsi)

نقش خودتان را ایفا کنید : کووید-19
Français (French)

COVID-19: Recommandations de la Santé Publique
日本語 (Japanese)

新型コロナウイルス感染症に備える:COVID-19
Kajin Majōl (Marshallese)

MELELE KO KINCORONAVIRUS
ကညီကျိ (Karen)

CORONAVIRUS (ခိၣ်ရိၣ်နၣ်ဘဲရၢး) အဂ့ၢ်အကျိၤ
Kishwahili (Swahili)

TEKELEZA WAJIBU WAKO: COVID-19
한국어 (Korean)

신종 코로나바이러스, 이렇게 예방하세요.
Kosraean

In aknasnasye poum (Ollac Poum)
नेपाली (Nepali)

आफ ् नो भागको गर ् न ुहोस ्: COVID-19
Palauan

Rseuel a chim
Pohnpeian

Widen Pehmw Kan ansou Koaros
русский (Russian)

ИНФОРМАЦИЯ О КОРОНАВИРУСЕ
Soomaali (Somali)

QAYBTAADA KA QAADO:COVID-19
ภาษาไทย (Thai)

ทำส่วนของคุณให้ดีที่สุด: โควิด 19
กริญญา (Tigrinya)

ናትካ ክፋል ግበር: ኮቪድ-19 – Tigrinya
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

THÔNG TIN VỀ VI-RÚT CORONA
Tongan

COVID-19 fakamatala ‘i he Tonga
More information for immigrants and refugees

USAHello | Coronavirus (link is external)

CDC Communication Toolkit (link is external)

https://multco.us/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-information-multiple-languages

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

That’s a good idea though it isn’t our local information like where to get tested, etc.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

California has classes and services to help people learn English. These classes and services are offered by adult education programs across the state. You can find these programs at schools, community colleges, public libraries, and community based organizations. Learning English can help you continue your education and earn a high school diploma and college degree.

Find a Citizenship Class
California Department of Education
Find a citizenship class to learn about becoming a U.S. citizen with this the Directory of Adul…

https://immigrantguide.ca.gov/en/LearnEnglish

from my understanding california is our local government

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Dr Frankovich really can’t find local testing site info. for Spanish speakers?

Hmm

Perhaps she could hire a translator. She might even be able to find a volunteer.

Obliviously
Guest
Obliviously
3 years ago

Can a translator help me translate Dr Frankovich here?

“Blah blah blah, obfuscate, blah blah blah, wag finger, blah blah”

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  Obliviously

Here looks like pretty good Spanish to me
“Bla, bla, bla, ofuscarse, bla, bla, bla, menear el dedo, bla, bla”

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  b.

German:
“Bla bla bla, verschleiert, bla bla bla, wedelnder Finger, bla bla”
Hmong:
“Blah blah blah, obfuscate, blah blah blah, wag ntiv tes, blah blah”

Mongolian (depending on your choice of script):
“Бла бла, буулга, бла бла, бла бла, бла бла”
“Bla bla, buulga, bla bla, bla bla, bla bla”

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago

The Mexican government encourages people to continue respecting social distancing measures, washing their hands, and coughing or sneezing in the inner part of the elbow to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A variety of prevention measures can be found at https://coronavirus.gob.mx

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

Kind of amazing who can and who can’t…..

” Recognizing the information gap, a group of Lao and Hmong volunteers translated COVID-19 fliers and fact sheets from Public Health and included paper copies in a massive food distribution effort to those communities in May.”

I guess it depends on how badly you want to know, or want to spread the info. But it sure seems like it would be harder to find in Laos and Hmong than in Spanish.

It still seems like victim hood and dialing for dollars to me.

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

Goya Foods gains over 100,000 Facebook followers in 24-hours

Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue was lambasted on social media for having the nerve to pay President Trump a compliment while at the White House. Several hashtag campaigns arose calling for people to stop buying their products after the largest Hispanic-owned food company in America seemed to not be as outraged as the radical left over President Trump’s presidency.

But things appear to be backfiring. There is no hard data regarding their sales, but support for the hashtag #BuyGoya grew immediately following the attempt to cancel them. Moreover, anecdotal accounts seem to be pointing towards INCREASED sales and support from Americans who either support President Trump or simply hate the Cultural Marxist effects of cancel culture being so pervasive from the radical left today.

First they come for me and then they come for thee!
Latinx will they cancel your culture next?
What culture will be left untouched, or will they all be dismantled?

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

I don’t think you understand what “radical left” means.

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Well, Go ahead an explain what it means.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

the lefty wingnuts tried to boycott in-n-out because someone found out they donate to the rnc. what they didnt know is that in-n-out donates the same amount of money to the rnc as the dnc. i think the company just likes the idea of elections

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

in-n-out donates shit wages and e.coli

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Guest

are you hiring?

what are you comparing them to? mcdonalds? stars? they pay better than both. or are you just joking

oh they also charge less than both qsr for a ‘comparable’ double cheeseburger meal

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

poverty wages.

so you can get your cheap-ass ‘double-roadkill meal.’

yummy.

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  Kim Cabrera

https://humboldtgov.org/2018/Humboldt-Health-Alert has a link to get a Google translation of each page

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago
Reply to  Guest

oh wow. yeah right at the top. wouldnt that be a journalists job to research

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&sl=auto&tl=es&u=https://humboldtgov.org/2018/Humboldt-Health-Alert

dont we give away free phones to people so they can take advantage of this. i knew closing down the libraries would hinder them from getting their propaganda out. geez they just need more foresight

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

Fascinating Report from Brazil on Effectiveness of Hydroxychloroquine Treatment. Money is why lies are told against it

Here are the highlights of a fascinating report by journalist Claudio Lessa on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19. Brazil is using this treatment widely and, as you will hear in the report, it appears to be highly effective. Please be sure to also watch Lessa explain the real reason (besides TDS) why there is so much hostility towards hydroxychloroquine as a treatment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGAlQbWCi6Y

5:16 minutes

P*** W***lies
Guest
P*** W***lies
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Expert urges caution…doesn’t matter what you want to believe, the CDC, WHO, .GOV, ETC.

PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE WHATEVER SUITS THEIR BELIEF SYSTEM.

Doctors and nurses spend all day long with sick and infected people and then go to the same public places with mask proven to have no guarantees against covid.

Kool-aid extra sweet in 2020

Obliviously
Guest
Obliviously
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

It seems that hydroxychloroquine which has been given to millions of people all of a sudden is one of the most dangerous drugs on the planet. Worse the fentanyl. Why? Follow the money. How come we aren’t hearing much about ivermectin either?

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  Obliviously

Before anyone made a political issue of the chloroquine related drugs, a nurse I know who had personally experienced and then researched the drugs told me that they seemed a very bad fit for widespread prophylaxis or treatment. They have “side effects” that are often unpleasant to the point of diminishing health and that are also often long lasting. That’s what is at issue here.

Why the F is anyone turning this into a political rather than a health issue? Oh that’s right half of you don’t actually care about health because Trump is your daddy, and half don’t care because he’s evil incarnate. Let’s not argue about obedience and belief, and instead think about health.

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

b.

Oh that’s right half of you don’t actually care about health because Trump is your daddy, and half don’t care because he’s evil incarnate. Let’s not argue about obedience and belief, and instead think about health

1st, 2 half’s make a whole so that would have to include you…right.

2nd, A nurse I know who had personally experienced and then researched the drugs told me that they seemed a very bad fit for widespread prophylaxis or treatment.

“seemed a very bad fit” How scientific!

3, “Why the F is anyone turning this into a political rather than a health issue? ”
“Oh that’s right half of you don’t actually care about health because Trump is your daddy, and half don’t care because he’s evil incarnate. Let’s not argue about obedience and belief, and instead think about health.”

Have you looked in the mirror lately?

4, “Let’s not argue about obedience and belief, and instead think about health.”

In other words everyone just get on with YOUR beliefs…whatever those are?

5, “Trump is your daddy”

I have a Daddy and he isn’t Trump.

Who’s your Daddy?

6, Why so pissy no one is making you take anything you don’t believe will work. maybe a bit of TDS?

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago

Neither.
I have no position on the effectiveness of chloroquine drugs. I’ve read a little further but find them not interesting because of my extreme bias against chemical pharmaceuticals. If I had to make a decision for myself I would step away from the hype and read the insert sheet and try to get real information from a medical professional (particularly a pharmacologist or a pharmacist– since many doctors work as salespeople for the most monitarily rewarding therapy, test or procedure). The nurse cited simply predates the political hype or I probably wouldn’t find her opinion as interesting.
Starting with the field observations of a knowledgeable observer is quite “scientific.” It isn’t so scieincey as is considered proper debate tactics but I don’t really care.

I read as much of the health info as I can stomach. I find this difficult because of articles that tout a half dozen cases of possible reinfection as proof that “herd immunity won’t work” and one case of possible transmission on an elevator button as proof that “surface transmission is very dangerous.” They’ve been beating that anti-herd immunity drum from the very beginning. Then there is the incessant attention to “who said what and who’s side is she on?”

The defensiveness of the epidemiologists, the defensiveness of the politicians together result in this whole thing being handled like a circus. I have personal familiarity with the behavior of sane pandemic management teams, and way to much of what’s being done doesn’t look like any kind of best management.

This is a relatively minor pandemic that has been made much worse by bad decisions and poor use of words at every level. The driving concern has been to cover for a disastrous system of expensive battlefield medicine that passes for health care. I see a lot of positioning for supremacy and not much care, being evidenced in the decisions and public rhetoric.

There is a lot of “making people do” and “making peole believe” going on all around me. Whoever is president I expect a lot of effort to make people take a vaccine that may or may not work and that may or may not have long term undesireable effects.

Just a note on math: I’m not in the group being divided into half, nor are goldfish or angels.

P*** W***lies
Guest
P*** W***lies
3 years ago
Reply to  b.

How bout those vaccine inserts, b,?

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  P*** W***lies

Shit, sigh, I can’t wait!

HotCoffee
Guest
HotCoffee
3 years ago

b,

My daughter in law is a intensive care nurse. They pretty much go by the FDA, CDC mandates.

I’ve studied nutrition and holistic medicine since Adele Davis wrote her first book and Linus Pauling started recommending Vit. C. in the mid 60’s.

Other than an antibiotic when absolutely necessary I don’t use Pharma meds either.

All pharma should be overseen by a Doctor… although most are educated by Pharma reps.

Even so if I were to try a pharma product it would be Hydroxy as it has been safely on the market in most Countries without a prescription for over 11 years. Also costs 11 cents per dose, and that’s the reason Pharma hates it and keeps canceling the trials.

Or pay thousands of $$$ for a Bill Gates special! No Thanks.

Ever have a doctor ask you if you want to read the insert before giving you a vaccine? I haven’t.

Has nothing to do with Trump and Daddies.

b.
Guest
b.
3 years ago
Reply to  HotCoffee

Since I was old enough to read and chose medical care for myself, I have read the insert for every vaccine I have been given and a few more for those I have refused. Had a copy of the PDR and researched others at the library (before the internet). The worst one I would have gotten was the HPV vaccine. They didn’t push it on me because I wasn’t female. Now a professional medical literature researcher I would call a friend has told me that it was oversold, undertested and has continuing side effects for many from its early days.
Oh, I keep forgetting the Vitamin D research. I prefer to keep my Vitamin D levels up which is why I am not sheltering indoors and continue to eat well.
The reduction (or elevation) of nurses to technicians for industrial medicine has mostly overwhelmed the profession. But not entirely the last time I had personal experience.