UPDATE 11 P.M.: The Southern Nevada Health District says that Latinos have the highest percentage of positive COVID-19 cases in Clark County, and now local leaders are urging the community to take steps to protect themselves.
"We are the ethnicity group that has the highest, and that's something that makes me nervous," said Councilwoman Olivia Diaz, Ward 3. "I know that we live in multi-generational households and sometimes multifamily households, and that is of even greater concern."
According to the Southern Nevada Health District, out of a total of 5,045 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 1,375 of them are Hispanic individuals.
That number makes up 27 percent of the total cases in the region, and it's also the highest percentage of any ethnic group.
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To understand why the numbers are what they are, local doctors say you must understand the culture.
The communities are tight-knit, which means the disease can spread because of the closeness, which can further put communities at higher risk.
"We spend a lot of time together, and we're very affectionate with each other, and this complicates the transmission of the virus," said Dr. Luis Medina-Garcia.
Clark County District E Commissioner Tick Segerblom says there is a large portion of the Hispanic population in his area.
Segerblom is pleading for everyone there to get tested, and that you do not need to prove citizenship to do it.
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"Once this gets involved in your family and your community and your household, it becomes much more serious," says Segerblom.
The push for testing is happening at the Immigrant Home Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that helps immigrants in the Las Vegas valley.
Organizers said they are shifting efforts to COVID-19 education, and have been flooded with questions from the community already.
"I know that the El Salvador Consulate, as well as the Mexican Consulate, is also offering free testing, so we are encouraging everyone who calls our office to go get tested," said Ruben Kuhuen, of the Immigrant Home Foundation.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- Dr. Fermin Leguen, acting chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District, joined other local elected officials to provide an update about how COVID-19 is impacting the Latino community in Las Vegas at the Southern Nevada Health District offices.
WATCH HERE:
La información presentada en el video está primero en inglés y luego en español.
Joining Dr. Leguen were Las Vegas City Councilwoman Olivia Diaz and Councilman Brian Knudsen, Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, Assemblywoman Selena Torres and Dr. Luis Medina-Garcia.
The news conference was held in English and Spanish and will go over access to testing, precautions and trends, and recent testing data specific to the Latino Community.
