Two community groups representing farmworkers in Ventura County say a recent large scale coronavirus outbreak at a farmworker housing complex in Oxnard shows the need for more protections.
More than 176 farmworkers and staff members have tested positive at the facility. Ventura County health officials say none of the workers had to be hospitalized, and those who tested negative have been moved offsite to motels to keep them from getting sick.
Officials with the farmworker advocacy groups CAUSE and MICOP say the workers should be paid, housed and fed until they can return safely to the country of their origin.
They are calling on the Ventura County Farmworker Resource Program, the county, and the owners of farmworker housing to step up coronavirus safety and education efforts.