A binational group says that more needs to be done to protect Sonora’s agricultural day laborers.
In a recent letter, a binational group of largely Arizona and Sonora advocates and researchers warned that community spread in agricultural communities is imminent. To avoid that, they recommend improving access to protective gear, policies to allow for appropriate distancing in work transports, and providing means to isolate for workers who do contract the novel coronavirus.
“There needs to be a health promotion program in the fields, but that’s sensitive to cultural variables like ethnolinguistic varieties,” said Jose Eduardo Calvario, a researcher at the Colegio de Sonora in Hermosillo and a letter signatory. Many of the agricultural workers in Sonoran fields are from indigenous communities.
