Maryland must do
more to protect its most vulnerable during epidemic | READER COMMENTARY
FOR THE BALTIMORE SUN |
APR 14, 2020 | 4:07 PM
Nurse Molly
Greenberg takes Asrat Alemayhu's temperature before he can enter Health Care
for the Homeless in downtown Baltimore last month. All clients were being
screened because of the current coronavirus outbreak.(Jerry Jackson/Baltimore
Sun)
Recently, we
learned, not surprisingly, that the first Maryland inmate has died of
coronavirus and, unfortunately, there are many more deaths to come unless the
most vulnerable are taken out of harm’s way (“First Maryland inmate dies of
coronavirus as Baltimore State’s Attorney Mosby ramps up calls to release some
inmates,” April 13).
Gov. Larry
Hogan has done an excellent job of instituting protective policies to reduce
the numbers of people in Maryland requiring hospitalization and dying of
COVID-19. He may have flattened the curve by early and aggressive emergency
actions protecting health care workers as well as most Marylanders. He has
aggressively dealt with the problem of the virus spreading in nursing homes. We
are grateful. But there are three populations that he has failed to address.
The neglect in dealing aggressively with these populations could cause COVID-19
to flare and spread like wildfire endangering many minority people primarily
and endangering the rest of Marylanders secondarily, wiping out the protection
that his good policies have heretofore allowed Marylanders to enjoy.
The homeless,
ICE detainees and all other prisoners housed in Maryland are largely minority
and totally unable to comply with the 6-feet distance order, to wash hands for
20 seconds with soap and water and to do so often. As a consequence, they and
the Marylanders who serve them will spread infection, and many likely will die
though this could have been foreseen and prevented.
Governor Hogan
could institute coronavirus testing of all persons homeless and detained in the
state using the test the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene deems
the most sensitive and specific. Following the department’s recommendations
using results and clinical guidelines, he could institute further
hospitalization versus quarantining for 14 days when releasing all non-violent
prisoners, all elderly prisoners and those with chronic illnesses as long as
these people are considered no threat to the community. Amnesty International
urges U.S. governors and local authorities to utilize their authority to
instruct immigration detention facilities, as well as county and local jails,
to reduce their immigration detainee occupancy, which could be done by urging
ICE to release all non-violent detainees housed in Maryland under state of
emergency regulations.
Finally,
Governor Hogan and Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young could work together
to try to find housing (for example, in empty motels) and food for homeless
especially families, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. All lives
matter and what happens to one population during a pandemic will put all lives
at risk. Is it too late to institute these policies? It surely would have been
better to have made these changes weeks earlier but it may not be too late to
save lives.
While the
governor deserves much respect for his actions at this time, I hope and pray he
will reach out to the most vulnerable Marylanders with policies that protect
them and benefit us all. Furthermore, let us hope this leads to permanent
policy changes that address the disparity in access to health and wealth this
pandemic is exploiting.
Gwen L.
DuBois, Baltimore
The writer is
president of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Copyright ©
2020, Baltimore Sun.
Wednesday,
April 15, 2020
Trump
Accused of 'Actively and Knowingly' Spreading Coronavirus to Central America
Through Deportations
Trump seen as "global health threat" as Guatemalan
health minister claims 75% of people on a recent deportation flight from the
U.S. tested positive for the virus.
commondreams.org/news/2020/04/15/trump-accused-actively-and-knowingly-spreading-coronavirus-central-america-through
People wear face masks
as a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, in
Guatemala City, on March 16, 2020. (Photo: Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)
Days after the Trump
administration threatened Central American countries with visa sanctions if
they refuse to accept nationals who are deported from the U.S. during the
coronavirus pandemic, the Guatemalan health minister said an estimated 75% of
the people on one deportation flight from the U.S. later tested positive
for the virus.
Health Minister Hugo
Monroy's claim raised fears that the U.S. is willfully sending sick people back
to the countries they left, creating conditions for larger outbreaks in
countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The U.S., which is now
the epicenter of the global pandemic with more than
600,000 cases, resumed deportations on Monday after a week-long
pause due to fears that ill migrants might spread the coronavirus to others on
deportation flights. The Trump administration sent two flights with a total of
182 people to Guatemala Monday.
Before the flights
resumed, the Guatemalan government reported that at least three
nationals deported from the U.S. later tested positive for the
highly infectious disease. A total of 180 cases have been reported in the
country, and at least five people have died. Monroy said he
could not give a specific number of positive cases on the recent flight for
security reasons.
"If Monroy is
correct, it could mean dozens of Guatemala's cases are tied to U.S.
deportations," reported ABC
News of the health minister's claim.
Before resuming
deportations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Central
American countries that if they attempt to bar deportees from entering, the
Department of Homeland Security would no longer process visas from the
countries.
The U.S. government's
insistence that deportations continue amid an international pandemic makes the
Trump administration "a global health threat," policy analyst Jesse
Franzblau tweeted.
US deportations are
spreading #Coronavirus
cases. Guatemala confirmed 75% of people on one flight tested positive for #COVID. ICE is dangerously
deporting people from detention centers where COVID is spreading, and spreading
the deadly virus overseas. https://time.com/5821053/guatemala-u-s-deportations-coronavirus/ …
"The United
States government is actively and knowingly spreading the virus to Central
America through deportation," tweeted Christy
Thornton, a Latin American studies professor at Johns Hopkins University.
As Common
Dreams reported last
week, immigrant rights advocates have demanded in recent weeks that the Trump
administration release as many detained immigrants as possible, including all
children, to prevent coronavirus outbreaks in the country's detention centers.
At least 89 immigrants in
detention have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, as well as 21 ICE
employees. As Common Dreams reported last
week, a federal judge ordered the agency to release immigrants who are at
heightened risk for exposure.
Immigrants and refugees
the administration forcibly deports, however, are unlikely to know whether
they've been exposed to the virus and if they could spread it to others while
en route to their home countries once they arrive.
"Unless deportees
have access to testing prior to boarding the plane, there is no guarantee that
they are not at risk of spreading the virus to others on the plane or to their
families once they arrive home," Rachel Schmidtke, Latin America advocate
for Refugees International, told ABC
News. "Continuing to deport sick people who lack access to
healthcare, a financial safety net, or even basic necessities like potable
water once they arrive in Guatemala is irresponsible and places unnecessary
risks on some of the most vulnerable."
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Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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