Dr. Seth Holmes on NBC2: “Florida is one of the main agricultural producers for the whole country, so if we can protect our farmworkers, we’re also protecting our food system." Collier County Health Department announces new plans for ongoing, free, community-wide COVID-19 testing in Immokalee starting this weekend! In response to dangerous spike of COVID-19 cases in Immokalee, Collier County Department of Health announces plans to partner with Doctors Without Borders and local clinic to provide urgently-needed testing!… Dr. Seth Holmes on NBC2: “Florida is one of the main agricultural producers for the whole country, so if we can protect our farmworkers, we’re also protecting our food system." At the beginning of May, nearly two months into the coronavirus pandemic, there were only 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Immokalee. Today, less than a month later, there are more than ten times that number — nearly 500 confirmed cases — surpassing the reported numbers in some of the state’s much largest coastal cities. Throughout this past week, headlines broke across the region warning, “Immokalee quickly becoming the epicenter of COVID-19 cases in Southwest Florida.” The extensive local news coverage has helped turn a spotlight on the severe shortage of testing resources in Florida’s largest farmworker community. That shortage thwarted the ability of the Department of Health and Doctors Without Borders, who set up shop in Immokalee in early May to support with vital aid efforts, to assess the real extent of the spread throughout the community, prompting Doctors Without Borders to launch an urgent public call for more testing to help “quell the outbreak.” In an excellent report by NBC2 reporter Briana Fernandez titled “Immokalee residents suffer from lack of coronavirus testing, poor living conditions,” Dr. Seth Holmes, a public health professor at the University of California Berkeley and an expert in community health, shares his experiences on the ground as a health volunteer in Immokalee over the past month and makes critical recommendations for protecting the farmworker community’s health and well-being: COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – Dr. Seth Holmes traveled to Immokalee from the University of California Berkeley when testing first became available almost a month ago. While stationed in Immokalee, he noticed poor living conditions and a lack of testing. “In this area, there’s a lot of people lined up to get buses together, maybe 15-30 people in a bus on their way to work. Sometimes they get in a van, or cargo trucks, and sometimes they’re wearing masks, while other times they’re not,” Holmes said. “On my walks in the mornings, as I’m exercising I’ve seen some of the living conditions people are part of, including trailers where there are nine people living together. The overcrowded living conditions and the transportation conditions are a bad sign of how the virus may spread.” Holmes said there have been alarming signs from what he’s seen when he’s out testing people and talking to residents. “I have heard from multiple people that they are feeling some symptoms or were exposed to someone who tested positive, but it’s hard to get tested themselves. Here in Immokalee, we don’t have the easy walk-up testing for everyone,” he said.... Read more about DOH's plans for ongoing, free, community-wide COVID-19 testing in Immokalee! Coalition of Immokalee Workers (239) 657 8311 | [email protected] | www.ciw-online.org Connect with us ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Coalition of Immokalee Workers | 110 S 2nd St, Immokalee, FL 34142 Unsubscribe [email protected] About Constant Contact Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!