BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Dolores Huerta Foundation along with Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez have released videos in both English and Spanish to promote the new COVID-19 testing sites here in Bakersfield.
According to the Kern County Public Health Services Department, Hispanic people make up over 65% of COVID-19 cases in Kern County, a higher rate than all other ethnic groups combined.
Many are at a higher risk because they are essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
Yet, there are far more barriers for Hispanic communities to access important health information and resources, in part because of language barriers or fear over their undocumented status.
Special efforts must be made to reach out to this community.
Transcription: “Hi, this is Dolores Huerta, bringing you information about testing for the COVID-19 virus that is free and open to everyone regardless of symptoms. The entire test takes only 15 minutes and the test results can be mailed to you within 24 hours at your email address and people can get tested as many times as they want. But remember to get tested, you have to make an appointment ahead of time. You can register at ProjectBaseline.com. The testing site for COVID-19 is at the Richard Prado Center, 2101 Ridge Road at Mt. Vernon. The site is open from Sunday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from noon to 2 p.m. It is closed on Saturdays. This special test site at the Richard Prado Center is for us, our communities of color and our low-income communities, so that we can have access to free, safe, reliable testing and also to get information so that we can open up our society in a responsible way to make sure everyone is safe. But we need your help to encourage everyone to get tested so that we can limit the risk of exposure. It is important to get tested whether you have symptoms or not to protect yourself, your famil, and our communities. We can do this. ¡SI SE PUEDE!”
