Many Idahoans lack crucial coronavirus information. Who is trying to get the word out?

The International Rescue Committee’s job-training class had a different kind of preparation in mind Wednesday morning. Instead of teaching the best way to land a job interview or the importance of handshakes in American business culture, staff focused on helping refugee families prepare for novel coronavirus in Idaho.

Questions bounced around the room in English, Kinyarwanda, Swahili and Russian. Is coronavirus and COVID-19 deadly? Is there treatment available if it comes to Idaho? What do we do if we get it? A show of hands illustrated that only a third of the room knew the name of their primary care doctor — the first person staff told them they should call if they begin experiencing coronavirus symptoms that aren’t life-threatening.

Albertina Makyambe, a Swahili-speaking refugee who arrived from Tanzania’s Nyarugusu Refugee Camp earlier this year, said she knew about the coronavirus cases across the world and the United States. But before the class, she had never received explicit instructions on the best way to prevent spreading the disease or how to get help in Boise if she needed it.

“I was very concerned,” Makyambe told the Statesman after the class. ”I’ll take this information and spread it to other people who didn’t come to this class so they can prevent it as well.”

Idaho residents who speak languages other than English or who may not have regular access to updated and accurate information risk being left in the dark during a pandemic. The Treasure Valley, in particular, is home to several groups who fall into this category: refugees living in Boise, Spanish-speakers, migrant farmworkers working in remote areas or people experiencing homelessness. Some may also be uninsured or have difficulty accessing medical care.

Idaho’s official website for novel coronavirus updates is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French and Russian, but not everyone knows it exists. Spokeswoman Marissa Morrison Hyer said the governor’s Coronavirus Working Group is continuing discussions of how to reach all populations and corners of the state with crucial coronavirus information “as the situation progresses.”

“The state is leaning on district health offices to take the lead with local outreach,” Morrison Hyer said. “… Different regions have different needs regarding language services. Idaho is taking the threat of coronavirus very seriously. That includes making sure all in our state have the access to information and health care they need.”

Organizations like the International Rescue Committee and others are working to make sure the people they work with have the information they need to protect themselves and their communities.

“Every community has vulnerable seniors and people with vulnerable medical conditions,” said Julianne Donnelly Tzul, executive director of the International Rescue Committee’s Boise office. “Basically, it’s contingent on all of us around vulnerable people to be putting into place measures that will protect them from getting the disease.”

Is there Idaho-specific coronavirus news in Spanish?

Idaho has very little local news for the state’s roughly 123,000 Spanish-speakers. The 2017 American Community Survey estimated 39% of those Idaho Spanish-speakers did not speak English “very well.” As news about the international coronavirus outbreak — which the World Health Organization officially classified as a pandemic Wednesday night — spreads across social media and local news, Idaho-specific information isn’t always available in Spanish.

“It’s fair to say that we have some opportunity to expand upon our COVID-19 messaging to ensure we are reaching community members whose first language is not English,” said Christine Myron, spokeswoman for Central District Health. “Fortunately, there is considerable information-sharing across public health agencies in the U.S. regarding novel coronavirus and we are able to repurpose items like fact sheets for our use — many are in English, Spanish and Chinese.”

Nampa resident Ricardo Quilantán runs a popular Spanish Facebook page focused on local news called “RQ Noticias.” About 13,000 people follow the page for updates on events and news from Latino communities around Idaho, which Quilantán gets from a combination of reader tips, scattered regional stories in Spanish and his own translations of local news. He said coronavirus rumors and panic among Idaho Spanish-speakers is getting “a little out of hand” — similar to recurring rumors about immigration crackdowns.

“They are most worried about if they can go out, if they can do their normal thing, what they can do on the weekends,” Quilantán said. “ ’Should my kids still go to school?’ And that’s not for me to decide.”

Most of the questions and panic come from his Spanish readers, Quilantán said, since English-speaking Latinos can find Idaho updates in local news. He said he hasn’t noticed Spanish information distributed by Idaho health officials, and relies mostly on CDC Spanish materials or his own translations of local information.

“I’m worried about them not getting the information, and then getting sick,” Quilantán said. “It’s not their fault, if they’re not getting the right information.”

Another Nampa resident, morning show co-host Yanira Corvera, said a show on La Gran D 106.7 FM also fields a lot of questions about coronavirus and what families should do to be safe. The show also does a lot of its own research for Idaho news and information, also relying on the CDC or “Google-translating” Idaho news articles.

“What we get is, have you guys heard anything?” said Corvera, who goes by “La Vaquerita” on the morning show. “We would love to have that information, to be honest.”

These language barrier concerns are compounded for migrant farmworkers, according to Community Council of Idaho Director Irma Morin. Spring agricultural work is starting to ramp up around the Treasure Valley, which means migrant farmworkers will begin moving through the state’s rural areas to fill jobs. The Community Council of Idaho runs Head Start programs for migrant children across the state and provides a wide range of services and housing to Idaho’s migrant farmworkers.

“They are among the most vulnerable in the state of Idaho,” Morin said. “A lot of the families don’t have medical insurance. They need to have those protections to avoid the spread at all costs.”

The Community Council Head Start centers and clinics work closely with their local health districts already, Morin said, and staff are taking cues from their national Head Start offices to help them get prevention information to migrant families. But Morin said she is also concerned that many farmworkers can’t afford to stay home from work if they’re sick — or if their kids’ schools close due to a coronavirus outbreak.

“If they close the schools for any reason, they are going to be forced to stay home,” Morin said. “It’s going to be very difficult for them because they need to work. If they are forced to stay home, what’s going to happen to them next? They need to be able to provide for their families.”

Homeless shelters preparing to collaborate, isolate sick clients

Communication isn’t the top concern of Boise’s homeless services providers. Interfaith Sanctuary Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers said many people experiencing homelessness in Boise or the Treasure Valley are connected to at least one of the service providers or shelters like Interfaith or the Boise Rescue Mission. Instead, Peterson-Stigers said they’re quickly working to develop a plan to isolate and protect their “medically fragile” clients in the case of an outbreak in Boise. Interfaith Sanctuary’s dorm-style housing could make that difficult.

“Our most at-risk are people who have diabetes, respiratory conditions, aging and unhealthy guests,” Peterson-Stigers said. “We have a lot of people that fall within that category.”

Collaboration with the other shelters and the Boise Police Department’s homeless liaison has been crucial in that respect, Peterson-Stigers said. The Boise Rescue Mission has agreed to accept mothers with young children in the event of an outbreak, as well as assisting with quarantining any Interfaith Sanctuary guests as needed.

The fact that Boise’s homeless population is much smaller than cities like Seattle or Portland makes preparation a little easier. But Peterson-Stigers is already anticipating a staff strain due to the availability of volunteers. Many of Interfaith Sanctuary’s volunteer staff are older and more likely to be at risk for developing COVID-19. Peterson-Stigers urged “young and healthy” Idahoans to consider volunteering at Interfaith Sanctuary if they were interested in helping.

“You have to be speedy — you can’t just sit and wait, otherwise you’ll be in big trouble,” Peterson-Stigers said. “We’re getting a lot of information at once, which can actually be overwhelming and scary, but you’ve got to deal with it.”

This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 5:25 AM.

Nicole Foy

Idaho Statesman

208-377-6347

Investigative reporter Nicole Foy covers Latinos, agriculture and government accountability issues. She graduated from Biola University and previously worked for the Idaho Press and the Orange County Register. Her Hispanic affairs beat reporting won first place in the 2018 Associated Press regional awards. Ella habla español.