NARANJA, Fla. – A hot spot in the spike of new coronavirus cases in Florida involves farmworkers. It can be tough to stay socially distant in the fields, and now the state is about to start targeted testing of workers.
“Since the beginning of this pandemic we have been raising the alarm,” says Oscar Londono, executive director of WeCount, a Homestead workers center that supports low-wage immigrant workers across southern Miami-Dade County. “We know that in our farms and fields our essential farmworkers are not being provided the protection they deserve.”
The agricultural area of Immokalee, a two-hour drive northwest of Homestead, is now a hot spot for COVID-19, according to the state’s dashboard. Analysts say the living and working conditions of migrant farmworkers leave them vulnerable to exposure.
Gov. Ron DeSantis last week referenced a cluster of coronavirus cases at a watermelon farm in north-central Florida. Now, health department officials have their eyes set on South Dade’s agriculture community, with plans for a targeted testing approach.
Miami-Dade’s deputy mayor Jennifer Moon said the state is partnering with Community Health of South Florida.
“To be able to do some more testing in South Dade and also deploying mobile units down farther south so we can make sure testing is available for everyone,” she said.
Said Londono: “I think we are encouraged by any positive action steps on the local and state government to elaborate and try to address this potential crisis in the fields, however, I think it is months overdue.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez says they plan to review testing already underway with a focus on South Dade’s agricultural sector.
“If COVID-19 is down there, which we suspect it is, you could see a higher percentage than the general population,” he said.
The mayor also said they are going to revisit test results already taken in this area to identify how many positives came out of the migrant farmworker community.