Coronavirus relief must account for all of us

Likemillions of people in this country, I have an auto-immune illness. Mine is rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed10 years ago when Iwas 24 and had the swine flu. I knowwhat it’s like to get a bug bite or an ear infection and take much longer thanmost people to heal.

I’ve learned to manage. Conditions like this don’t need to be a sentence of death or long-term impairment, as long as allworking people have the protections they need against an outbreak likeCOVID-19.

Unfortunately, many people have none. Up to 106millionwere left out of the protections that theHouse and Senate passed back inMarch. Today, even as the Senate majority races to push through a Supreme Court nomination, they are shirking their responsibility to reach agreementwith colleagues on an updated coronavirus relief bill. That must change.

Here in Florida, whenwe locked down back inMarch, I felt relieved that I could work digitally. My husband did all the errands. I even gave up seeingmy huge Latinx family. My uncle, whoworked as a custodian atmy kids’ school, would drop them off, say hi at a distance and leave. Formy birthday in April, my family members sang happy birthday outsidemy door.

Whenmy uncle’s birthday came in June, he urgedme to come celebrate. He toldme theywere all being very careful, so Iwent. That same night I felt somethingwasn’t right. Iwas eventually diagnosed with COVID-19. Mymomand uncle also tested positive.

Turns outmy uncle passed it on to us. He was infected by another school custodian whoworked for a contractor and had no paid sick days, and no coverage fromthe Families FirstCoronavirusResponseAct. That man stayed home two days and came back to the job because he had to pay his bills. He unintentionally infected four other custodians.

In less than aweek, my uncle had to be hospitalized. He died after a total of 72 days in the hospital. Hewas 57 years old.

Likeme, my uncle had an underlying condition— in his case, diabetes. We’ve learned that any blood illness causes the respiratory issues associated withCOVID. Alot of Black and brown people suffer fromthis, often because poverty cuts them off from access to healthy food and to health care. When I lived paycheck to paycheck, I remember going to McDonald’s andwanting a salad, but it cost $7. The burgerwas $1. Thatwas all I could afford.

I knowthere are peoplewho believe that the pandemic is a hoax, but I have lived it. I had to quarantine inmy room. My kidswould bringme food and drink to the door. Everything I touched went into the trash. ThankGod, they did not get infected.

Amonth after catching the virus, Iwas still sick. Iwound up with high blood pressure. At one point the doctorwas afraid Iwas having an embolism and putme on blood thinners for a period of time. I nowget bad headaches that make it hard to think.

Luckily Iwork for a social justice nonprofit with great policies. I can take the time I need. But I knowmany people who do not. Here in Florida, a study by our farmworkers’ association showed the immigrantworkers who bring food to our table are not allowed to takewater breaks or bathroom breaks. That causes kidney damage, which can trigger diabetes. Theseworkerswere also left out of the FFCRA; they have to go towork ill in order to survive financially.

COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate. It can happen to anyone. Recently, it reachedmy daughter’s teacher, endangeringmy daughter and her classmates. Many young and perfectly healthy people in Florida and nationwide have been affected.

We need to make sure everyone has access to paid sick days and, for all theCOVID-19 survivorswho are sick longer than two weeks, we also need emergency paid leave. The updatedHEROESActwould provide this. The Senate must act. For too many people, this is a matter of life and death.