Fear, language barriers hinder immigrant contact-tracing Only a handful of contact tracers working to slow COVID-19 in 125 communities near Chicago speak Spanish, despite significant Hispanic populationsOnly a handful of contact tracers working to slow COVID-19 in 125 communities near Chicago speak Spanish, despite significant Hispanic populations. Churches and advocacy groups in the Houston area are trying to convince immigrants to cooperate when health officials call. In the ZIP code with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Maryland, 56% of adults speak Spanish. But only 60 of Maryland’s 1,350 contact tracers speak Spanish. She said earning trust begins with hiring contact tracers who not only speak Spanish but also intimately understand immigrant communities.

Source: ABC News August 15, 2020 16:33 UTC