State adviser: Some NC Latinos sick with COVID-19 are sent home from hospitals

Hospitals are sending away some Hispanic residents who speak limited English even though their COVID-19 symptoms are serious enough for them to be admitted, a state adviser on the Hispanic/LatinX COVID-19 response said Thursday.

Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi said in a news conference that she had been hearing more and more about these cases, and, as a member of different task forces concerned with vulnerable communities, is trying to determine the extent of the problem.

“Organizations should not put already struggling families fearful of what is happening with their health” in the position of having to explain that they are sick enough to be in the hospital, she said. “It shouldn’t be so hard to do.”

Hispanic residents are less than 10% of the state’s population, but account for 44% of the lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Nearly 62% of Durham residents who tested positive for COVID-19 since March are Latino. The Latino community is 10% of Wake County’s population but represents 45% of its COVID-19 cases.

Many Latino residents work in industries such as construction or food processing, in jobs where they don’t offer health insurance and where social distancing is difficult.

Martinez-Bianchi joined fellow Duke physician Dr. Gabriela Maradiaga Panayotti in starting the Latinx Advocacy Teams and Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19 in March.

On Thursday, Martinez-Bianchi identified areas that need attention: self-advocacy, having culturally-appropriate interpreters and working with hospital personnel who determine who gets admitted and who gets sent home.

DHHS reported 2,160 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total to 93,462 since the state’s first coronavirus infection was reported in March.

On Thursday, the state announced it has launched a Spanish-language website that advises people whether they should be tested.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, said hospitals are required to see everyone who walks in, “but we do know there are access issues.”

This month, the state is opening 300 temporary sites in Black, Latinx and Native American communities where testing is free.

Cardra Burns, senior deputy director at the Division of Public Health, said 2,000 people have been tested at 60 events in less than a week.

“The early feedback tells us the need is very much there,” she said.

NC trends continue to rise

The regular assessment of COVID-19 metrics shows the number of people coming to hospital emergency departments with flu-like symptoms and new coronavirus infections are trending higher.

This week, Gov. Roy Cooper extended Phase Two of the state’s plan to ease restrictions on business and leisure activities by at least three weeks because of “troubling” trends.

The percentage of positive coronavirus tests remains around 8% to 10%. Cohen reiterated Thursday she would like to see percent positive closer to 5%.

About 25,000 coronavirus tests are performed each day, but the wait time for results is still too long, Cohen said.

In addition, the state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise. Thursday’s total was 1,134, the fourth consecutive day that the total is more than 1,100 and the eighth day in a row it has exceeded 1,000.

State officials take solace, though, that the hospital system has beds available in both regular and intensive care units, despite the recent surge in patients hospitalized by COVID-19.

“We have continued to simmer,” Cohen said, “but so far have avoided boiling over as a number states of are doing.”

This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 4:51 PM.