Latino essential workers continued to work as COVID-19 spread through their communities, a factor contributing to the current disproportionate rates of infection of COVID-19 and deaths caused by the virus among the population across the state. 

In response, Latino leaders at the state and local level have mobilized to ensure the community receives the aid and resources it needs. 

The Nevada Hispanic Legislative Caucus created a COVID-19 task force amid the initial outbreak in March that issued a list of recommendations to Gov. Steve Sisolak on how to support the Latino community amid the pandemic.

The recommendations specifically for the Latino community included a collaborative effort between the state government, local nonprofits, medical professionals and the Office of New Americans to ensure access to health care for undocumented Nevadans, and messaging and information available in Spanish regarding unemployment, food banks, the state health insurance exchange and how to receive health care. 

There are also a number of efforts to provide meaningful information about the pandemic in Spanish. For example, the Reno City Council has established an online presence with information about resources in Spanish and the Hispanic Legislative Caucus also created a bilingual information website called AyudaNevada. Additionally, numerous local news organizations provide information about the pandemic and the state’s response in Spanish. 

Democratic Assemblyman Edgar Flores, a member of the task force, is concerned by the relatively higher infection rates in the community and is still working to stretch the task force’s resources across the state.

Read the entire article at The Nevada Independent.

This portion of the article is shared as part of our collaboration with The Nevada Independent. This story was originally published on Sunday, June 7 and written by Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez.