"While everyone might not know the statistics regarding Fruitvale and the number of COVID cases it has, anyone who knows Fruivale can notice a difference from before COVID-19 began to spread, to now." -- Judith Hernandez, 11th Grade
Oakland’s Fruitvale District has been the hardest hit by COVID-19 in the Bay Area, bringing fear, anxiety, and loss to families but also changing the vibrant culture and energy the neighborhood creates. More specifically, the majority of these cases, according to the Unity Council, are in the 94601 zip code. According to the Mercury News, Fruitvale is “50 percent Latinx and one of the poorest in the region… about 3 percent of the county’s population but 11 percent of all cases. That’s 256 cases per 10,000 residents, nearly four times the county’s overall rate.”
“There’s a lack of education and resources in the community,” said Alexa Hernandez, a 9th grader at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience, on why she thinks her community has such a high rate of cases. “For example, many don’t understand [the importance of] wearing masks, so they don’t. Also, money could be an issue. People might not be able to buy things like masks and hand sanitizer, so they’re not as safe”.
Martha Garcia-Palma, an 11th grader at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience, added, “I think Fruitvale is the most affected by COVID-19 because it has always been a very busy place and a very populated place… there aren’t very many resources in Fruitvale to handle COVID. It makes me feel concerned because no one is really helping the community.”
One lack of resource that has affected Fruitvale since COVID-19 first began to spread is testing. Zoe Lopez-Meraz, candidate for Oakland City Council’s District 5 explains the importance of testing for COVID and wishes to increase the number of tests accessible to Fruitvale residents. “I want sample testing to happen locally,” she explained. “Current test results take so long because we export our samples to be tested out of state a lot of the time. We can invest in rapid testing, some results taking 90 minutes to receive. This will require working with city, county, and state officials to secure this emergency funding, which we do have.”
La Clinica de la Raza and the Native American Health Center, both located in Fruitvale, have also teamed up to provide more testing for Oakland Families in attempts to lower the case rates. They have tried to make it accessible by stating, “You do not need insurance. You will not be asked about immigration status” in order to address struggles that many Fruitvale residents face when seeking medical help. La Clinica and other community partners have also worked with UCSF to create free testing sites to encourage testing to those who have been dealing with loss of income and jobs.
“There’s a lack of education and resources in the community,” said Alexa Hernandez, a 9th grader at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience, on why she thinks her community has such a high rate of cases. “For example, many don’t understand [the importance of] wearing masks, so they don’t. Also, money could be an issue. People might not be able to buy things like masks and hand sanitizer, so they’re not as safe”.
Martha Garcia-Palma, an 11th grader at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience, added, “I think Fruitvale is the most affected by COVID-19 because it has always been a very busy place and a very populated place… there aren’t very many resources in Fruitvale to handle COVID. It makes me feel concerned because no one is really helping the community.”
One lack of resource that has affected Fruitvale since COVID-19 first began to spread is testing. Zoe Lopez-Meraz, candidate for Oakland City Council’s District 5 explains the importance of testing for COVID and wishes to increase the number of tests accessible to Fruitvale residents. “I want sample testing to happen locally,” she explained. “Current test results take so long because we export our samples to be tested out of state a lot of the time. We can invest in rapid testing, some results taking 90 minutes to receive. This will require working with city, county, and state officials to secure this emergency funding, which we do have.”
La Clinica de la Raza and the Native American Health Center, both located in Fruitvale, have also teamed up to provide more testing for Oakland Families in attempts to lower the case rates. They have tried to make it accessible by stating, “You do not need insurance. You will not be asked about immigration status” in order to address struggles that many Fruitvale residents face when seeking medical help. La Clinica and other community partners have also worked with UCSF to create free testing sites to encourage testing to those who have been dealing with loss of income and jobs.
However, with tests comes the fear of testing positive. Many Fruitvale residents worry about the lack of resources to keep themselves and their family members safe. According to Mercury News, “In one-third of Latinx homes in 94601, there is more than one person in every room that isn’t a bathroom. In Oakland as a whole, just 8 percent of homes have more than one occupant per room.” This is an issue for someone needing to quarantine in order not to spread the virus to their family because according to the CDC, someone who tests positive for COVID should “Stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home. If possible, use a separate bathroom. If you must be around others, wear a mask.” This becomes more challenging to do when there is already little space in one’s home.
Another fear for many is documentation status. “For many here, there is fear, not just of the virus, but fear that showing up for a test could pull them too far out of the shadows, " says Laura Anthony, reporter for ABC News. Noel Gallo, current Oakland City Councilmember representing District 5 claims that Fruitvale is, “seeing a lot of the new immigrant families, with no documentation.”
Lopez-Meraz further illustrates the struggles many in Fruitvale are facing. “Because [undocumented immigrants] are taken advantage of and not paid what they deserve, they are forced to live in poverty,” she said.. “We tend to see large families living together in these situations, and we know COVID is highly contagious… This community is also a majority of Fruitvale’s essential workers, so they are doubly exposed to many people. A lack of reliable testing and contact tracing has not helped, either. We have so much to work on, but we can and will take better care of our essential community.”
Business owners and street vendors face unique struggles to stay afloat while also trying to follow state guidelines. In April, Berkeleyside reported that “Fruitvale has long been one of Oakland’s liveliest commercial districts. Now, its small-business owners, mostly immigrants and people of color, are facing an existential threat.” Many shop owners and restaurants are stuck with the dilemma of either shutting their doors or defying state guidelines to stay in business out of necessity. For many, their businesses are their way of paying bills and buying food.
Before COVID-19, Fruitvale was a busy neighborhood with strollers, families, and street vendors crowding the streets selling fruit, ice cream, and any type of raspando you’d like. There are many family owned businesses whose owners we can easily call friends. Before COVID-19, my family and I would go to Fruitvale almost everyday during the summer. We would go to the small festivals in the plaza, the Cesar Chavez Library, or just to pick up some food. After school, my friends and I used to walk to Fruitvale and spend hours there drinking boba, eating pizza or just hanging out.
While everyone might not know the statistics regarding Fruitvale and the number of COVID cases it has, anyone who knows Fruivale can notice a difference from before COVID-19 began to spread, to now. Yasmin Moreno, 11th grader at Lighthouse says, “COVID has impacted my community a lot. Now, the streets look sad. It’s not the same anymore when people would be out having fun.”
There are no more festivals and the library is now closed. There are less street vendors and a lot of the stores are boarded down. The streets are less crowded and everyone seems tired. The energy and culture of Fruitvale feels gone. At least, that’s what it feels like at first until I start walking around and begin seeing all the murals and art painted on every wall. Murals of Black and Brown solidarity and murals of all the lives that have been lost to police brutality. Murals of hope and others of rage. The liveliness Fruitvale and its people create is not gone, it’s just trying to find another way to survive. We all are.
Another fear for many is documentation status. “For many here, there is fear, not just of the virus, but fear that showing up for a test could pull them too far out of the shadows, " says Laura Anthony, reporter for ABC News. Noel Gallo, current Oakland City Councilmember representing District 5 claims that Fruitvale is, “seeing a lot of the new immigrant families, with no documentation.”
Lopez-Meraz further illustrates the struggles many in Fruitvale are facing. “Because [undocumented immigrants] are taken advantage of and not paid what they deserve, they are forced to live in poverty,” she said.. “We tend to see large families living together in these situations, and we know COVID is highly contagious… This community is also a majority of Fruitvale’s essential workers, so they are doubly exposed to many people. A lack of reliable testing and contact tracing has not helped, either. We have so much to work on, but we can and will take better care of our essential community.”
Business owners and street vendors face unique struggles to stay afloat while also trying to follow state guidelines. In April, Berkeleyside reported that “Fruitvale has long been one of Oakland’s liveliest commercial districts. Now, its small-business owners, mostly immigrants and people of color, are facing an existential threat.” Many shop owners and restaurants are stuck with the dilemma of either shutting their doors or defying state guidelines to stay in business out of necessity. For many, their businesses are their way of paying bills and buying food.
Before COVID-19, Fruitvale was a busy neighborhood with strollers, families, and street vendors crowding the streets selling fruit, ice cream, and any type of raspando you’d like. There are many family owned businesses whose owners we can easily call friends. Before COVID-19, my family and I would go to Fruitvale almost everyday during the summer. We would go to the small festivals in the plaza, the Cesar Chavez Library, or just to pick up some food. After school, my friends and I used to walk to Fruitvale and spend hours there drinking boba, eating pizza or just hanging out.
While everyone might not know the statistics regarding Fruitvale and the number of COVID cases it has, anyone who knows Fruivale can notice a difference from before COVID-19 began to spread, to now. Yasmin Moreno, 11th grader at Lighthouse says, “COVID has impacted my community a lot. Now, the streets look sad. It’s not the same anymore when people would be out having fun.”
There are no more festivals and the library is now closed. There are less street vendors and a lot of the stores are boarded down. The streets are less crowded and everyone seems tired. The energy and culture of Fruitvale feels gone. At least, that’s what it feels like at first until I start walking around and begin seeing all the murals and art painted on every wall. Murals of Black and Brown solidarity and murals of all the lives that have been lost to police brutality. Murals of hope and others of rage. The liveliness Fruitvale and its people create is not gone, it’s just trying to find another way to survive. We all are.
