Two weeks after the reopening of some of the malls, restaurants and barbershops, 598 people tested positive for coronavirus in Belle Glade and Lake Worth areas according to the Department of Health. This number represents the 12.3 percent of Palm Beach County’s total caseload, jeopardizing the county’s collective progress against the virus.
Other factors, such as language barrier, poverty and trust issues with the government, worsen the situation as mentioned by commissioners and other public officials, leading to the hotspots in Belle Glade and Lake Worth.
Although the county provided additional resources to the fight against the virus in those areas, like extra mobile testing and masks distribution, the officials admit that there is more that needs to be done: in-depth information about the effects of the virus, more effective isolation, better contact tracing, and changing the manner of informing the general public about the virus.
During their recent meeting wherein city commissioners voted to reopen beaches, they also discussed the coronavirus hotspots focusing mainly on Belle Glade being the city with the most cases in the county.
Commissioner Bernard Mack said that they need to be “all hands on deck in the Glades.” He mentioned that something must be done to significantly prevent the spread of the virus in Belle Glades.
Source: Palm Beach Post