CALGARY -- Wednesday marked the first day of new measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Calgary’s hard-hit northeast neighbourhoods.
The new measures include 14 days free hotel stay with culturally appropriate meals following a positive test, and a concentrated outreach campaign available in 10 different languages.
As of Wednesday the far upper and lower northeast had 1,501 active cases of COVID-19, accounting for roughly a quarter of all cases in Calgary.
Many are employed in front line service industry jobs, offering more opportunity for exposure outside the home. Coupled with often low pay and large families to provide for, the virus can spread quickly once it arrives.
“We have multigenerational families in our homes, so we are densely populated in these house,” said Rishi Nagar, news director at RED FM. “Houses are small and families are big.”
Nagar says there is also a stigma in the community surrounding COVID-19.
“People from my community try not to reveal that they have this thing. If I get infected with COVID-19 I will try my best that no one would know,” he said.
In the coming days his radio station, which has a lot of reach in the city’s southeast Asian community, will start broadcasting a series of public service announcements and offering translations in multiple languages.
