The Latino Chamber of Commerce has launched the Protege a Wisconsin (Protect Wisconsin) campaign to help businesses stay open and reduce the spread of COVID-19 within the state.
“One of the reasons we thought it was important to start this comprehensive plan for businesses was because we saw the number of COVID cases going up in the state,” President and CEO Jessica Cavazos said.
New coronavirus cases have surged to levels not seen since the rollout of the vaccine. Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) Director Janel Heinrich says this increase is due to the spread of the Delta variant, the most dominant strain in Dane County which can spread to unvaccinated people easier.
The organization plans to help build confidence in the vaccine through outreach. Cavazos explained the chamber has continued to connect with businesses on best practices for operating throughout the pandemic.
“We have a growing number of businesses that are reopening. We wanted to teach them how to reopen safely,” she said.
This includes providing resources to individuals and families as well. The campaign’s website includes information about the vaccine, testimonies from those who have received the vaccine and access to a map of locations offering vaccinations across Dane County.
“As a chamber, we want to support healthy workforce policies and promote healthy social distancing policies. We want to make sure that there’s not a high transmission in workplaces,” Cavazos said.
She explained that because many Latinos worked on the frontlines of the pandemic and a lot of people did not have the privilege of isolating themselves. This meant entire households contracted the virus.
“There’s certain policies that business owners should now have in place,” Cavazos said.
This includes requiring staff and customers to wear masks indoors as well as having access to the other personal protective equipment. She also wants businesses to encourage their employees to get vaccinated.
“We can’t be lenient on how we’re running our businesses if this variant makes a resurgence,” Cavazos said.
Cavazos said the chamber has taken a proactive approach through educating the community on how to stay healthy. She hopes this will also keep businesses’ doors open and the economy on track.
“We’re also at the request of the employers. If they need us to go out to speak directly to their staff and employers, we’ll do that,” Cavazos said.
The chamber also began producing live webcasts last month featuring leaders and community members sharing their experience with the vaccine. Episodes air each Tuesday at noon on Facebook Live and YouTube. The webcasts are entirely in Spanish.
“Something we know in the Latino community is that word of mouth works very strongly,” she said. “We’re going to ensure that the right information is going out to these businesses so we can reduce transmission and maintain healthy work environments.”
Cavazos says that these live transmissions will also include advice from health experts on the new variant and provide updates on COVID guidelines for businesses. PHMDC issued new recommendations regarding the use of masks indoors, even for those who are fully vaccinated. These recommendations came in light of new guidance from the CDC.
“I think this is my biggest concern right now. We’re in a great place right now to be preventive and make a difference,” Cavazos said.
