Fire district, health nonprofit respond to coronavirus in Immokalee

Two medical groups, one local and one from abroad, are in Immokalee working to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. This is following the uptick in cases in the community in the last month.

According to recent reports, 8% of the population in Immokalee tested positive for COVID-19. That’s much higher than anywhere else in Southwest Florida, and the impact on families is deep.

Glenda Gonzalez knows the pain of this pandemic.

“It’s a hard thing to deal with when you can’t go home and see your kid and see your mom suffering because my father is in the hospital right now in ICU,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez confirmed her father is in the hospital with COVID-19 and her mom’s stuck at home, suffering too.

“She tested positive,” Gonzalez said. “I had two cousins that have had [COVID-19} and one unfortunately passed away a few days ago.”

Gonzalez is negative for coronavirus currently, but what’s happening to her Immokalee family is not exactly rare.

The number of positive cases is continuing to spike in the Immokalee community. That’s why the humanitarian organization Global Response Management is responding.

“What we bring to Immokalee is our ability to sort of think outside the box and look at what has worked for us in other areas and apply those strategies here locally,” said Helen Perry, the executive director of Global Response Management.

The team’s biggest priority is to get people who become sick to self-isolate but that’s easier said than done.

“Unfortunately, a lot of these people do not have, you know, the money to survive,” Gonzalez said. “So they, unfortunately, have to keep working.”

The Immokalee Fire Control District and the response team are working together to provide financial assistance to familie and hotel rooms in Naples for people who get sick, so they can self-isolate.

“We found ourselves being almost the first step in the health care system,” said Fire Chief Michael Choate of Immokalee Fire Control District. “Our firefighters, along with Collier County EMS, are being called into these homes when these patients are so sick.”

And the two groups are finalizing plans to open a medical isolation facility in Immokalee. But, again, the challenge is to get people to accept the help.