Farmworkers are treated to a free lunch while also being provided with tips on how to better care for themselves and their families during the pandemic by the Campesino Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The caravan is made up of community educators, families and young adults who have been coming to multiple fields in Watsonville to show their appreciation to the farmworkers since the middle of March. | Photo by David Rodriguez for the Salinas Californian
Back to main story: The Sickness Inside
Monterey County: 7,522 cases, 53 deaths
Monterey County Hispanic/Latino cases: 5,526, or 73.4 percent of cases
Monterey County cases involving ag workers: 1,675, or 22.3 percent of cases
Santa Cruz County: 1287 cases, 6 deaths
Santa Cruz County Hispanic/Latino cases: 762 cases or 59% – Latinos comprise 33.5% of total county
Santa Cruz County cases involving ag workers: 113; 8.7% of cases
Percent of farmworkers who are undocumented: 83%
Source: Center for Farmworker Families
Total number of agriculture workers in Santa Cruz County at peak: 9,000 to 10,000
Source: Santa Cruz County Agriculture Commissioner
San Benito County: 767 cases, 4 deaths
Source: https://hhsa.cosb.us/publichealth/communicable-disease/coronavirus/
*San Benito County doesn’t break it down by demographics/industries according to county spokesperson
Total number of employees who have been through the GSA-Natividad training and outreach program in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties: ~5,000
Total number of ag workers in region during peak season: ~90,000-100,000
The Center for Farmworker Families estimates that 83% of ag workers in Santa Cruz County are undocumented, with Monterey County at about 50%.
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