1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: From Futuro Media. It's Latino, Usa. I'm Maria ino Josa. 2 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: Most everyone knows that New York City is the epicenter 3 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,920 Speaker 1: of the coronavirus pandemic, but the state with the third 4 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: most coronavirus cases after New York and New Jersey is Massachusetts. 5 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: And as the curve appears to begin to flatten in 6 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: New York City, it's a place that the federal government 7 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: is now becoming more concerned about. 8 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 2: Massachusetts remains in its surge, with cases topping more than 9 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 2: fifty four thousand. Death notices stretching twenty one pages in 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,199 Speaker 2: the Boston Globe reflect the growing number of victims in 11 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 2: the battle against COVID nineteen. 12 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: And just across from the Mystic River from Boston is 13 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: a city that has the highest per capital rate of 14 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: infection in the state of Massachusetts. 15 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 3: It's the city of Chelsea. 16 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 4: Part of the issue is that Chelsea has a large 17 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 4: immigrant population. This mass General Clinic is now testing everybody 18 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 4: with symptoms, and they are stressing you don't have to 19 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 4: be a patient here, you don't need health insurance, and 20 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 4: they will not ask your immigration status. 21 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 5: Now. 22 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: For generations, Chelsea's residents have been primarily Latino, Latina or 23 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: newly arrived immigrants who commute into Boston to work the 24 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: outbreak of coronavirus. There is more than twice the rate 25 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: of infection than Boston. Julio Ricardo Barelepp is my co 26 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: anchor for our politics podcast in The Thick, but he's 27 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: also a reporter based in Boston, and he's here with 28 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: me today to give us a portrait of what's been 29 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: happening in the city of Chelsea, right outside of Boston. Hey, Julio, 30 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:53,559 Speaker 1: welcome back to Latin USA. 31 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 3: Hey Maria. 32 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: So, Julio, most people, you know, they have a sense 33 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: of Massachusetts, they know Boston, but not a lot of 34 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: people know anything about this city of Chelsea. So where 35 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 1: is Chelsea, what's its relationship to Boston and who lives there. 36 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 6: So I've been living in the Boston area since nineteen 37 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 6: eighty six, and if you pull any Latino in Boston, 38 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 6: everyone up here knows that Chelsea is the city, right 39 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 6: It is the city of the Latino immigrant and it's 40 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 6: mostly Central America now because these families initially came to Boston, 41 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 6: to the Boston area to escape Civil war right in 42 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 6: the late eighties and nineties. So there's been a strong 43 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 6: Central American presence, and that's continued over the years. 44 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 3: And I like to call Chelsea like this classic working 45 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 3: class city. 46 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 6: Families they live in these places that we call up 47 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 6: here triple deckers, And basically a triple decker is essentially 48 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 6: a three floor building, right, with an apartment on each floor. 49 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 6: And Chelsea is right now sixty six percent Latino. And 50 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 6: it's also important to note, right, it's only about one 51 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 6: point eight square miles in radius, and it's literally on 52 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 6: the north of Boston, northeast of Boston, right over the 53 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 6: Tobin Bridge, which is over the Mystic River, right, and 54 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 6: about forty thousand people live there, So you know, forty 55 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 6: thousand people one point eight square miles, it's pretty dense. 56 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 3: Right. 57 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 6: There is a significant undocumented population in Chelsea, and many 58 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 6: Boston residents may have never been to Chelsea, right, And 59 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 6: yet it's this city, Chelsea that really keeps Boston running 60 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 6: in a lot of invisible ways. 61 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 7: You've ever taken a flight out of out of Logan Airport, 62 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 7: The jet fuel that your flight used came from Chelsea. 63 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 3: This is a weird though. 64 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 6: He menez Riveta, he's a Chelsea School Committee member, he's 65 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 6: an elected official. He told me a lot about like 66 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 6: how important Chelsea is to Metro Boston's economy. 67 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 7: If you've you know, bought groceries, any kind of produce, 68 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 7: your produce probably came through Chelsea. And then the last 69 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 7: bit is salt storage. So all of the ROADSAL that's 70 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 7: used in the greater Boston area is stored in Chelsea. 71 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 7: If you come by, you'll see two gigantic mountains of 72 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 7: ROADSAL just sitting on the just next to one of 73 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 7: our main roads. That's kind of Chelsea. It's a place 74 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 7: where the people who live here kind of help the 75 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 7: economy continue to run. 76 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 6: Chelsea's this classic immigrant city that fuels the larger, bigger 77 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 6: city like a Boston. And recently that really hit home 78 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 6: with me when my friend Marcella Garcia of the Boston 79 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 6: Globe actually broke the story about what was. 80 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,359 Speaker 3: Going on in Chelsea during COVID nineteen. 81 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: It feels like, if I have an image, these are 82 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: cities like Chelsea, which you know, most people are just 83 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: driving right past. You're going a little bit deeper and 84 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: painting this picture. And now what we do know federally, 85 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: right the CDC data is showing that Latinos and African 86 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:00,160 Speaker 1: Americans are overrepresented in COVID nineteen cases, So and what 87 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: does that have to do with the high numbers that 88 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:03,799 Speaker 1: you're seeing in Chelsea. 89 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 6: So coronavirus has hit Chelsea really hard for a lot 90 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 6: of the same reasons that other immigrant communities across the 91 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 6: country have been struggling with. And in Chelsea about eighty 92 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 6: percent of all of Chelsea residents are essential workers, right, 93 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 6: so they have to take the buses to Boston to work. 94 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,359 Speaker 6: There really isn't an expanded transportation system like the New 95 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 6: York City subway, so that's part of it. 96 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 3: But also aware though the school board member. 97 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 6: A major issue he points out is that there has 98 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 6: been a lack of official information about the coronavirus in 99 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 6: Spanish and for Chelsea residents, that creates confusion. 100 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 7: People who are the most marginalized are going to miss 101 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 7: out on opportunities. You know, they're going to end up 102 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,600 Speaker 7: referring back to you know, random WhatsApp threats that they're 103 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 7: on with family and friends, and then they're going to 104 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 7: hear something and think like, well, that's that's the information 105 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 7: that I have. So then they're just going to act 106 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,719 Speaker 7: on inaccurate and possiblieve and harmful information. 107 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 6: And in addition to these factors, Chelsea's a place with 108 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 6: very little political power, so residents often feel overlooked by 109 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,359 Speaker 6: state authorities. So one of the voices I had to 110 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 6: talk to because I connected with a lot of my 111 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 6: local Boston journalists colleagues, and I said, who are the leaders? 112 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 6: Who are the people in the know who aren't necessarily 113 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,359 Speaker 6: elected officials, And everyone's like, you need to talk to 114 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 6: Glady's big She's the unofficial mayor of Chelsea. 115 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 5: We have hard knuckles because our job is if people 116 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 5: don't come to us, we don't wait for them. We 117 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 5: just I am the executive director. You can see me 118 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 5: five minutes, you know from now, in high heels with 119 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 5: address and you can see me with you know, boots 120 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 5: and sneakers knocking on doors. 121 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 6: They would say, like, Gladys is you know and a lingua. 122 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 6: You know, she is unfiltered. She knows everyone in Chelsea. 123 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 6: And so I talked to her about the work that 124 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 6: her organization, the Chelsea Collaborative, was doing, food pantries, wellness check, 125 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 6: moving people right. 126 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 3: And then she told me. 127 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 6: This that residents still need resources and grassroots organizations are 128 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 6: essentially doing the rule of government in Chelsea, and so 129 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 6: she wasn't surprised when the coronavirus started to spread all 130 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 6: over the city. 131 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 5: One wonder why this pandemic is being compared to New York. 132 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 5: Right when we started doing this job in March seventh 133 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 5: and we began to feed the people in the streets, 134 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 5: I wasn't surprised. Our families don't have a chance to 135 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 5: go to the hospital. Our families have two three jobs 136 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 5: in order for them to get a decent salary of 137 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 5: one job. Our families don't have access to healthcare. 138 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 6: And she says even as help and resources have arrived, 139 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 6: there have been issues. For example, the National Guard came 140 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 6: to Chelsea to hand out food and glad He's told 141 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 6: me that she knew that the residents of Chelsea, a 142 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 6: lot of them would see people in military uniform and 143 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 6: they just want trust them. It's because of Latin American history, 144 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 6: Central American history. So she had to really connect with 145 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 6: residents and her volunteers, and because they trust her organization, 146 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 6: she was the one who was saying, Hey, these guys 147 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 6: are good. 148 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 3: They're going to give you food. Everything's okay. 149 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 5: The National Guard is the friendly are of the military. 150 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 5: They're all of our friends. They're not ice Asian. They're 151 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 5: here just to give you food, So please take that box. 152 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,719 Speaker 1: And you know that makes sense because Chelsea's population has 153 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: a lot of undocumented families, families that are also mixed status, 154 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 1: and there are a lot of people who live in 155 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: Chelsea who are still going to work every day, and 156 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: that means that many of them have to take the 157 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: bus in order to get to their jobs and then 158 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: they get sick, right, They many of them did get sick. 159 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: By April twenty seventh, they had almost fifteen hundred cases 160 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: of COVID nineteen. So for the people who did get sick, 161 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: what were their options, Like, did you speak to anyone 162 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: who is tested positive? 163 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 6: I did have an opportunity to talk to a permanent resident. 164 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 3: Her name was Arelis Lopez. 165 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 6: She's from El Salvador, and she told me in Spanish 166 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 6: that she started to feel sick about two a couple 167 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 6: of weeks ago, two three weeks ago. And this is 168 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 6: what she told me about how she was getting symptoms. 169 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 6: She would wake up in the morning with like this 170 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 6: massive pain in her body, as if she got run 171 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 6: over by a truck, or like she had just run 172 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:46,319 Speaker 6: a marathon. She felt like there was a rag tied 173 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 6: around her head really tightly, and that was the pain 174 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 6: that she was feeling like almost every day. So Relis 175 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 6: went to a clinic in Chelsea and they told her 176 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 6: that she did have the CORONAVIRUSVA. So she asked if 177 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 6: they had a test that she could take to confirm, and. 178 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 3: They said no. 179 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 6: They told her there were a few tests, but they 180 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 6: were only for people who worked in hospitals or for emergencies. 181 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 3: Then she said she still had to go to work. 182 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 3: She needed the money. 183 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,319 Speaker 6: She works near South Station in Boston, in one of 184 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 6: the big office buildings there, so she did that for 185 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 6: a while. 186 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 3: She would take the bus she went to work. 187 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 6: Finally, a couple of weeks later she was able to 188 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,839 Speaker 6: get tested right, and she tested positive. So she told 189 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 6: me that she had to stop going to work. I 190 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:56,319 Speaker 6: am she's not working right now and she's not getting 191 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 6: a paycheck. And now her daughter has it as well, 192 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 6: and they're both isolating together, and she's now fearful for 193 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 6: her granddaughters who are now staying with her daughter's husband. 194 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 3: She doesn't want them to get it okay. 195 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 1: So nationally, we are seeing this shortage of tests and 196 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: strategies like the use of widespread testing, for example, in 197 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: places like South Korea. You know, they've been shown to 198 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: be super effective in terms of stopping the spread of 199 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: the virus. So what did the limited amount of early 200 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 1: testing mean, specifically for the people of Chelsea, people like 201 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: Arelis who couldn't get tested for weeks and the fact 202 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: that there wasn't massive testing available. 203 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 6: The thing about testing Maria that is so clear and 204 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 6: having mass testing is that overall it's going to help 205 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,680 Speaker 6: doctors and hospitals know where they're going to know where 206 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 6: the virus is spreading faster and how it's spreading. And 207 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:52,199 Speaker 6: it also helps some plan to contain it and also 208 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 6: to treat patients. So testing is everything. And so for many, 209 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 6: like of these community leaders in Chelsea, the de layed 210 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 6: response of healthcare providers, for example Max right Master wont 211 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 6: talks about Max. They started getting sent to people around 212 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 6: the middle of April in Chelsea, and that's about one 213 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 6: month after the outbreak. And when I spoke to Gladys 214 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 6: about it, I mean she started her comment with Porto Ricana, 215 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 6: which means I'm getting my Puerto Rican up and I'm 216 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 6: like all right. 217 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 5: Okay, so this is my media, so it bothers me 218 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:34,199 Speaker 5: so much because this part right here. So people wanted 219 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 5: to get tested, probably three and a half weeks ago 220 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 5: when they were going to the local clinics and they 221 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 5: were being sent home, or you're not a first responder, 222 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 5: you're not a priority. You have the symptoms, stay wrong, 223 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,319 Speaker 5: you're going to be quarantine. But there's nothing you can do. 224 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 6: In her eyes, places like MGH, Massachusetts General Hospital, and 225 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 6: other healthcare providers and local officials, they didn't respond as 226 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 6: quickly to this. Many of these people couldn't self isolate 227 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,959 Speaker 6: because they were living in really dense living situations. 228 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 3: They didn't have enough food or money to stay home. 229 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 6: So it spread to the point where Chelsea, right, a 230 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,680 Speaker 6: city of one point eight right, one point eight square miles, 231 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 6: it's the highest rate of infection per capitom in the 232 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 6: state of Massachusetts. 233 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: All right, So people do know that Boston has it's 234 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: actually a center for super high quality medical care. It's 235 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: the home of Massachusetts General Hospital, which is known as MGH. 236 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: And this hospital, like the highest quality, is only a 237 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: few miles from Chelsea. So what's happening now in terms 238 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: of the current health response. 239 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 6: So I talked to a doctor at Mass General in 240 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 6: the headquarter hospital in Boston about their overall response, and 241 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,440 Speaker 6: I should mention that Mass General Hospital also runs a 242 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:03,439 Speaker 6: clinic in Chelsea. 243 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 3: His name is doctor Joseph Bettencourt. 244 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 6: He's a practicing physician, but he's also vice president and 245 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:13,479 Speaker 6: chief Equity and Inclusion Officer for the entire MGH system. 246 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 6: He's Puerto Rican and he told me that he treats 247 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 6: about four hundred and fifty patients, many who have COVID 248 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 6: nineteen right now, and many, according to him, are from Chelsea. 249 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 8: We began to see that between thirty five and forty 250 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 8: percent of our patients at National Hospital who were admitted 251 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 8: with COVID day Latin and that was actually the first 252 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 8: alawn that we got in he before the numbers started 253 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 8: tricking in. You know, we had Doctor Saint Louia. I'm 254 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 8: still a lot of Ltail patients and admitted with COVID, 255 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 8: and that was the kind of the first alawn. 256 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 6: And doctor Bettencourt told me he was worried from the beginning, 257 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 6: like he admitted that the system overall should have seen 258 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 6: this coming, especially for residents like those in Chelsea. And 259 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 6: when I asked him about the initial response. 260 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 8: What happens nationally is that you then need to ration 261 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 8: these kind of based on the set of criteria there 262 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 8: is based on list, so you're going to say, okay, 263 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 8: first we're going to test these individuals who have X 264 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 8: amount of symptoms or healthcare work exposed. And so gradually 265 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 8: what you saw was a slowly loosening of that criteria 266 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 8: as more testing capacity was here. 267 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 6: So testing, according to him, has increased. Right now, the 268 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 6: system is learning, and he says that the criteria for 269 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 6: testing is loosening. 270 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 3: For example, he. 271 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:36,360 Speaker 8: Reacted pretty quickly once we realized that we the hotspot. 272 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 8: We had a chelseae, So you had a cough and 273 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 8: you were from Chelsea, you were getting tested. 274 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 6: So there was a lot of things that they began 275 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 6: to institute at MGH that he was a part of. 276 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 6: So for example, they went out into the community and 277 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 6: they said that they shared care kits right with information 278 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 6: English and Spanish containing soap, had masks from a mitigation standpoint, 279 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 6: from a treatment standpoint for those on critical patients. They 280 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 6: worked with local officials to take over rooms in hotels 281 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 6: to isolate patients, and they kind of became like mini 282 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 6: hospitals like hospitals light as he said, and also he 283 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 6: made an effort to say, like, let's get our Spanish 284 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 6: speaking doctors leading some of these care teams. 285 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: Well, so it seems like there is a kind of 286 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: response that is beginning to get into gear. But the 287 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: tenor of the voice of the people who you spoke to, 288 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: it really feels like they're anxious. So how are they 289 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: feeling now now that people, it seems are starting to 290 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,240 Speaker 1: pay attention to the crisis in Chelsea. 291 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 6: I mean, they feel like they're getting noticed, but there 292 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 6: is this feeling of anxiety and despair and fear still, right, 293 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 6: so it's still a resource issue. Many many people are 294 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,800 Speaker 6: laid off from their jobs. They can't work, and like arelis, 295 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 6: they have no income. Really says, you know, I'm the 296 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 6: one who pays the rent. I'm the one who pays 297 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 6: the bills. But now she doesn't have a paycheck. She's 298 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 6: waiting for the notification of unemployment so that she can 299 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,719 Speaker 6: begin to at least apply or begin the process of 300 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 6: getting unemployment. And because of the undocumented population, there's a 301 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 6: lot of people who are undocumented in Chelsea, they can't 302 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 6: even apply for that benefit. 303 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 3: And gladly. She feels it could be too little, too late. 304 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 6: Now, this could have been avoided if institutions like MGH 305 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 6: Mass General Hospital could have advocated. 306 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 3: More for them. Like when people are asking to be tested, they're. 307 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 5: MGH, they're globally known. So when they don't cry as 308 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 5: loud as they should for my community, I get extremely 309 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 5: upset because it's not fair that we lose in life. 310 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 5: What in the meantime, other communities are doing the test 311 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 5: real quickly and we will not doing it until like 312 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 5: probably a couple of days ago. 313 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 3: All right, Well, it's a lot. 314 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: It feels like the city of Chelsea has just been 315 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: going through a lot put through the ringer, like the 316 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: entire country. But the fact that it kind of has 317 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: felt invisible makes it a problem. 318 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:27,760 Speaker 3: So how is the city doing now? 319 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 6: I'm going to frame it as cautious skeptical optimism. You know, 320 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 6: the city is seeing early signs of a possible curve flattening, 321 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 6: and there's a lot more attention on what's happening there 322 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 6: right so Ever, since Martella Garcia of the Boston Globe 323 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 6: broke the story, local media outlets have been covering it. 324 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,119 Speaker 6: There's more and more national outlets that are covering the story. 325 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 6: And there are a lot more resources coming into the 326 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,080 Speaker 6: city of Chelsea, for example, tests, food, hotel rooms to 327 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,719 Speaker 6: isolate in, but so far, not many of those hotel 328 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 6: rooms are really being used. Maybe it's because people are 329 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,359 Speaker 6: afraid too because they might be undocumented. Maybe the people 330 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,399 Speaker 6: just don't want to leave their family. And in a 331 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 6: recent study which MGH did where they tested a sample 332 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 6: of Chelsea residents, a third of them tested positive for 333 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 6: exposure to the virus. 334 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 3: That's a big deal. 335 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 6: So what it means is that there are a lot 336 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 6: more residents walking around who have coronavirus than what the 337 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 6: actual numbers are showing. And some of those people are asymptomatic, 338 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 6: which means they could be spreading it without even knowing 339 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:41,239 Speaker 6: that they're spreading it. 340 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 3: Right. 341 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 6: And finally, for like community leaders like Gladly's, they're getting 342 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 6: the resources, which is really really important, but they're still 343 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 6: relying on each other, especially emotionally, as a community. So 344 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 6: she told me about how one resident is in a 345 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 6: really tough spot and they did just bring her food. 346 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 6: They also threw her a little party right outside her door. 347 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 5: Lady Mona Senora, her mom is in a nursing rome. 348 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 5: She just found out her mom has the coronavirus and 349 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 5: she's not able to go to the nursing home to 350 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 5: see her, and if she dies, she's never going to 351 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 5: be able to say goodbye. And we took it because 352 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 5: she's always like a very happy person. So we did 353 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 5: a paranda. We took some instruments. We were at the 354 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 5: door with goods like food and stuff and mask and 355 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 5: we sang with her and then we started crying with her. 356 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 3: You know, that story. 357 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 6: The paranda, to me, symbolizes what Chelsea is all about. 358 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 6: It's what I've grown to love about the city of Chelsea. 359 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:48,720 Speaker 6: Community helping each other, crying, laughing, dancing, getting through yet 360 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 6: another challenge. That's what Chelsea's all about. I mean, I 361 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 6: think the bigger picture here, Maria, is that there's so 362 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,880 Speaker 6: many community he's like Chelsea all over the country, and 363 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,480 Speaker 6: for a long time they've had to rely on themselves 364 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 6: and they're often neglected or overlooked or made invisible. So 365 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 6: with this terrible crisis, to some extent, I think it's 366 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,879 Speaker 6: the first time we're forced to face these inequalities that 367 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 6: have really been around for such a long time. 368 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:30,120 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. 369 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 3: Julio for all of your reporting. We really appreciate it. 370 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 3: Thank you. 371 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:38,360 Speaker 1: Maria is the founder of Latinorebels dot com, the co 372 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,880 Speaker 1: anchor of In the Thick, and a reporter based in Boston. 373 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,960 Speaker 1: This episode was reported by Jo Marella, produced by Mihir Macias, 374 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,400 Speaker 1: and edited by Sophia palisa Ka. The Latino USA team 375 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:20,639 Speaker 1: includes Luis Trees, Antonio Serejidojan Jamoca, alissaes Carce, and Alejandra Salasad, 376 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: with help from Joanne Luna and Raoul Perez. Our engineers 377 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,880 Speaker 1: are Stephanie Labo and Julia Caruso. Additional engineering this week 378 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: by Lea Shaw. Our director of programming and Operations is 379 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,880 Speaker 1: Natalia Fidel Hutz. Our digital editor is Amandel Cantra. Our 380 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 1: intern is Julia Rocha. Our theme music was composed by 381 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: Zenia Robinos. 382 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:39,439 Speaker 3: If you like the. 383 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:42,400 Speaker 1: Music you heard on this episode, stop by Latinousa dot 384 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,679 Speaker 1: org and check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your 385 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,640 Speaker 1: host and executive producer, Maria no Roosa. Join us again 386 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: on our next episode, and in the meantime, I'll see 387 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: you on all of our social media Atala Proxima CAO. 388 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 9: Funding for Latino USA is Coverage of a culture of 389 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 9: health is made possible in part by a grant from 390 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 9: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Latino USA is made possible 391 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 9: in part by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur 392 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,200 Speaker 9: Foundation and the Ford Foundation, working with visionaries on the 393 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 9: front lines of social change worldwide.