Migrant Farmworkers Receive Financial, COVID Help From South Florida Nonprofit

Migrant farmworkers in Palm Beach County test 10 percentage points higher for COVID-19 than the rest of the county.
That’s according to Laura Kallus. She’s CEO of the Caridad Center, a free health clinic in Boynton Beach. Kallus says migrants who test positive and live below the poverty line can’t afford to not work in the fields. They face similar coronavirus exposure at home. "Even though they may be asymptomatic, you know, we try to stress the importance of staying home and isolating. If they're living three or four families deep in a trailer or apartment, it's just almost impossible for them to socially isolate. So we're looking at the whole household becoming infected." Volunteer doctors at the clinic say 68 percent of positive cases were people who did not experience symptoms. The center monitors COVID-positive patients every day and provides rent, medical, and food assistance directly to their homes.