COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Afghan refugee Mahmood Amiri arrived in the United States more than a month ago, but his children are still waiting for their first day at school. They have yet to go to a mosque to meet other Muslim families. And Amiri is itching to get a job, but nobody knows how long that will take in a crashing economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put much of American life on hold, and efforts to ensure the robustness of US democracy have not been exempt.

The vast majority of ballplayers —who toil with teams connected and not connected to MLB clubs in hopes of reaching the majors— are playing in a much different economic playing field.

HOUSTON (AP) — The young migrants and asylum seekers swim across the Rio Grande and clamber into the dense brush of Texas. Many are teens who left Central America on their own; others were sent along by parents from refugee camps in Mexico. They are as young as 10.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged Wednesday to begin reopening Mexico’s economy next week —encouraged by U.S. officials— even as hospitals from Mexico City to the border reeled under the pressure of the largest one-day jump in COVID-19 case numbers and the lack of testing made decision-making difficult.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico officials announced Wednesday that they are closing more than 30 public school cafeterias and several food warehouses after dozens of workers tested positive for the new coronavirus—a blow for students who activists say are often going hungry during the pandemic lockdown.

“The decision is a powerful affirmation and validation of the COVID-19 concerns raised by our clients, all immigrants held by Sheriff Thomas Hodgson,” Iván Espinoza-Madrigal wrote in an email.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The death toll from the novel coronavirus among medical personnel in Mexico has reached 111, and the virus has infected between 8,500 and 15,000 hospital staffers, officials said Monday.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Roger Ordoñez was hospitalized with breathing problems last week.

Presidential politics move fast. What we’re watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign.

Pomona’s administration was intentional with their tactics to get people off campus. As a low-income person, I cannot afford the added financial burden of a fine, much less losing my campus job.

“I’m still in contact with all the students in my class, but we’re not talking about school at all because at this moment courses have been suspended,” Eliani Matienzo said.

SAN CRISTÓBAL, Ecuador (AP) — Before the coronavirus, sudden life-threatening ailments among tourists, fishermen and others on the Galapagos Islands were considered so rare that hospitals didn’t have a single intensive care unit bed.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — After fleeing Venezuela along with millions of others amid the country’s grueling humanitarian crisis, Misael Cocho made his way by bus to Peru—where he got odd jobs and sent money home monthly to support his mother and his 5-year-old son.

“For us it’s important to support those around us. If we are able to and if an opportunity to help someone presents itself, we will rise to the occasion,” Olga Calderón told Latino Rebels.

Before the pandemic, mom-and-pop stores at the Latino-oriented mall La Gran Plaza, in Fort Worth, saw crowds of thousands every day. Now, tenants are worried about evictions and not making ends meet.

The news cycle doesn’t stop.

From Texas, the story of two Latino-owned businesses who have been trying to access relief funds and have come up short in a very crucial moment for their businesses.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Few countries celebrate Mother’s Day with as much gusto as Mexico, and that has created fears the celebrations could threaten lock-down measures and spread the new coronavirus.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — On a day Mexico saw its worst daily increase yet in coronavirus cases, foreign-owned auto plants began setting dates for reopening.