The SACU board was pleased with the level of interest and support we received for our townhall, “Africans Are Not Immune: A Coronavirus Townhall”. We had about 70 participants joining us via video conference or telephone, and 30 participants joining us on our webpage via Facebook live streaming. Many more joined us via Facebook watch parties. In total, we have had over 2,100 views as well and counting. For those of you that were not able to attend and still want to follow the discussion, a video of the full townhall is now available on YouTube.
For a full list of the topics and speakers see our coronavirus townhall page. Below, you will find highlights of some of the important information shared during the townhall as well as some of the resources provided by our speakers during their discussions.
The townhall began with moderator, Thoko Kachipande, introducing SACU and highlighting it’s work as a nonprofit that serves SA diaspora in DC area. She highlighted its goals of focusing on community building, outreach, advocacy, education and other community events as well as its aims to represent immigrant and expats from countries from Southern Africa and friends from Southern Africa.
Kachipande highlighted that the purpose of the townhall was to discuss issues that are related to Covid-19 and how they are impacting Africans in the diaspora and how this community is affected by the pandemic. The DC region is one of the largest African community in the US with many working in health industry as doctors, nurses, etc. Statistics about African community is often overlooked and/or grouped under African American, yet, the African diaspora is facing unique social and economic factors such as belief that Africans are immune or more resistant to covid-19.
What is Coronavirus & Treating Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction.
This topic was covered by Dr. Mutsa Munjoma, A medical doctor who serves underserved communities in Baltimore. The highlights from this topic were as follows:
- Coronavirus is a group of viruses that can affect animal and human beings. Causes different symptoms from common cold to severe illness. Covid-19 is a disease that caused by a new coronavirus pathogen that can be transmitted person to person through infected droplets
- e. if someone coughs, sneeze and the droplets land on eyes, nose, mouth etc. to be introduced to the body. The droplets typically travel up to 6 ft or 2 arms lengths, which explains why social distancing mandates 6ft away. Partly transmitted through infected surface, it’s not proven but know that other corona virus last on surface for up to 6 to 9 days.
- The incubation period is 14 days most people will start showing symptom around day 4 to 5. The symptoms range with most people experience mild symptoms. The symptom range can be broken down as follows:
- Mild symptoms – roughly 81%
- More severe symptoms and hospitalization – roughly 14%
- Critical patients – roughly 5%.
- The types of symptoms vary: Most of the time it will be a cough, fever, body aches and in the more severe cases people will develop shortness of breath. There are some reported cases where they had loss of smell and diarrhea. In really severe cases, people develop what is called ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) patient in those cases require ventilation.
- People at risk of corona virus: people 65 and older, those with cardiovascular disease, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cancer, HIV patients, etc.
- African Americans are mostly affected because of socio-economic disparities.
- Case mortality 2.3%, it’s much higher when you look at individual groups.
- If you think you have coronavirus the best thing to do is to call your primary care provider to walk through it. Most people have mild symptoms so can be managed at home on the phone with primary care.
- CDC has great resources where you can do a self-check
- Testing is getting better but there are limited tests and PPE. There are more testing available, but it’s prioritized to those that are high risk, for those hospitalized and heath care workers.
Navigating Healthcare and Funeral Services
This topic was covered by Lesley Padya Kanjere, RTRT. Her aim was to share her experiences on how covid-19 has impacted her family due to rapid changes in the healthcare system and in organizing burial services. The highlights from this topic were as follows:
- On March 21, she received call from nephew’s roommate in N.Y because her nephew had passed out. His roommate called an ambulance and shared the number of the hospital he was going to be sent to. She tried to call her nephew, but he wasn’t picking up. An 1:30PM, the ER doctor called to have family history of nephew because went to cardiac arrest and they were trying to resuscitate him. Lesley asked to go to the hospital, but they didn’t allow her to because they weren’t accepting any visitors – they would only communicate with her over the phone. She called an hour later, and they said her nephew was alive but that he had a pulmonary embolism. They said they couldn’t operate but that he is very critical and still refused to let her to go to the hospital. Then they called to let her know that her nephew passed away at 7pm the same day, but that she still couldn’t go to the hospital. However, they sought permission to do an autopsy.
- They transferred the body to Queens NY for the autopsy. The situation of covid-19 wasn’t as bad as it is now at that time, so they offered to keep body for 14 days (since she couldn’t go see the body) and said she can request an extension after 14 days if needed. But by the time day 13 had arrived, covid-19 had gotten worse, so they were getting rid of all bodies at the facility as soon as possible. She asked for 5 more days but they refused. She started looking for funeral homes, but they were no longer conducting funerals and with travel bans she couldn’t go to NY.
- She wanted to have the body shipped in Maryland, but they faced an additional hurdle because funeral homes in Maryland would either do cremation or do direct burial without family members. Since the time he passed away, she couldn’t identify the body so that wanted to make a positive identification, but funeral homes also did not want to take pictures of the bodies so that they could identify the body. They now do fingerprint identification to the body.
- She finally got in touch with a funeral home in NY and that agreed to take a picture and pick up the body. She couldn’t be there and couldn’t do a body viewing with people gathering for support. It was just her husband and a few members of the Zimbabwean community who were able to console them. They are still waiting for the pictures from the funeral home though, but they thank God he had a burial of some sort and once the situation settles will go to see where he is buried.
- Chatroom link: A gofundme account to support the family has been set up: Go Fund Me
Working with Coronavirus
This topic was covered by Opper Chiweshe, RN. She is a nurse and founder/president of Zimbabwean Nurses Association of America. She highlights a vivid picture of the typical experiences that the many healthcare professionals in our community are going through. The highlight from this topic which recounts a typical day in the life of a nurse during the pandemic as are as follows:
- A day in the life of a nurse: At 5 o’clock AM the alarm goes off and you ready for work. Your prayers are more intentional due to the current situation. You say a prayer for the family staying home, and hope their kids are staying home too – plead the blood of Jesus over families and friends all over the world. As you get ready, you pay greater attention to things you wouldn’t normally pay attention to – e.g. putting on extra layers of clothes. Your commute has been cut in half or so thanks to all of the people staying home,
- Once you arrive at work, you go through screening in case you have a temperature. You wear a mask – it’s now required that you wear a surgical mask while in the hospital. You could be assigned to a covid-19 unit i.e. patients are isolated into and some of them are sicker than what you’re usually used to. There could be patients that are on ventilators and some nurses who are not experienced to patients with ventilators are being assigned to these units because there is a shortage of nurses.
- Everyday there are new updates – so many updates coming from the CDC and each day you come in and there might be a difference from what you were told the day before: They are now repurposing masks i.e. sterilizing mask to be re-used due to shortage of PPE. Sometimes you are allowed to use a headscarf, some places don’t allow you to. It’s all confusing and scary.
- You are a professional who is committed to taking care of your patients, yet you are scared of a potential breach that might put you at risk of contracting the disease. As you enter the room, you are the only human connection to the patient, they are alone in the room. Mostly it’s the critically ill that stay at the hospital, the others are sent home. Sometimes the patient is too sick to video chat with loved ones, so the nurse is the only human connection. You have to be strong for the both of you. It’s a rollercoaster, you have patients who are getting better and some others who aren’t.
- At the end of the shift you go through another ritual of making sure to take off all protective gear without contaminating yourself.
- Nurses in psyche units, nurses in home health, private duty nurses, nursing homes, etc. face different realities.
Coping with Anxiety
This topic was covered by Dr. Stem Mahlatini, licensed psychotherapist. She talked about the need for the African community to talk about mental health which is typically treated as a taboo in society and often not talked about. The highlights from her topic were as follows:
- Mental health is taboo in African community – there actually should be a townhall just to discuss mental health in African community.
- We all need to take covid-19 seriously and allow ourselves to understand that this is serious, and that it is affecting all of us. For example, for those concerned about things like how we might look ridiculous with a mask know that it is necessary to keep those around us safe.
- Reach out to medical professionals and follow their advice. A lot of insurance providers and doctors offer have telehealth programs now.
- Have the courage to ask for help and put yourself out there if you need help. Some people can become depressed or stressed of they don’t have enough food.
- If person who’s been diagnosed with mental health you might experience more of your symptoms now because of the anxiety of covid-19. Do not hesitate to call your doctor so they can look into your medication. Therapists are now available online so you can have your counselling sessions online.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available for most employees. The Human Resource department usually have the phone number, but it can also be obtained by a supervisor or a manager. When you call request for free EAP sessions per problem – you get 5 to 25 free sessions. It also applies for family members. You can also get it for couples, children, etc. it is per problem and per family member. If you’re not working, many therapists are giving free services or at a discounted rate to accommodate those in need.
- The way our minds are taking us to unimaginable places so please limit the news you are watching. By watching the new constantly, you are getting vicarious trauma because watching the commotion and the death that is happening and that is not good for your mind so give yourself a break. Maybe watch the news 30 mins in the morning to see the latest updates and turn off the TV. Then at night you can watch the news to see what has happened during the day and then turn off the TV. Anxiety is contagious so when you choose not to watch the news you also need to discuss other topics with those around you for your mental health.
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The free e-book “7 Steps to Coping With a New Normal” has information of what mental health symptoms to look for and best coping tips.Download Your Free Copy:
- Chatroom Links: https://drstemempowerment.com/
Africa, African Diaspora and Coronavirus
This topic was Stella Jefferies, DNP an adult nurse practitioner who also does medical mission to Africa and focuses on community health. Her aim was to discuss the response in Africa and what we can do as a diaspora. The highlights from her topic are as follows:
- The pandemic has widened the international socioeconomic divisions which makes it deadlier. According to Africa CDC there is 20,270 cases, 1,025 deaths and 4,700 recovery. Some of the issues Africa faces are lack of resources and supplies for hospitals and medical doctors. The pandemic will continue to impact in Africa in socioeconomic inequalities.
- As a diaspora we must come collectively to support our African countries. It is important that this is done in conjunction with your governments as well. As an example, the Liberians in the diaspora have put together a taskforce that works with Health Minister (Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah) to give resources to support Liberia. Liberia went through Ebola, which was devastating for the country and now to have covid-19 is going to be even more detrimental.
- The Africa CDC is working with different health ministries to provide supplies. China has also come forth to help Africa but we want to challenge us Africans in the diaspora to help our countries.
- I am happy to hear about the presences of an Zimbabwean Nurse Association in America and every African country should have similar associations to help their countries back home.
- This is not the time to sit back and watch it’s the time to mobilize and work with officials and leaders, contact your health minister and ask what you can do to support your country. In Liberia, we are trying to invest in the locals for those who can make masks, hospitals beds, etc. We currently have one covid-19 center we are trying to open two more centers.
- Covid-19 is not on the same scale in Africa as it is in the US or Italy, so health education and prevention are key to limiting the spread.
- Chatroom Links: Diaspora initiatives shared by participant, Tinashe: https://www.ppezim.com, http://citinitiatives.org, kufemazimbabwe.org, https://www.sotzim.org, https://twitter.com/hashtag/iam4byo, https://www.citinitiative.org, https://www.maskedwithhope.org, https://www.battelle.org/inb/battelle-critical-care-decontamination-system-for-covid19
Immigration and Coronavirus
This topic was covered by Fatmata Barrie, an immigration attorney in silver spring area. Her aim was to address the common questions that she has been getting from African immigrants and residents in the US. The highlights of her discussion were as follows:
- The concerns people have had the most have been from:
- those applied for asylum and they are not getting updates and fear they were denied
- those who came to visit and cannot go back because of covid-19
- USCIS shut down partly on March 18. Shut down some of their face-to-face centers – Fatmata will share the link with information of centers that are open.
- If you are visiting, you can file for an extension and many other areas now have an extension.
- If you received a letter requesting for evidence between March 1 – May 1 then you have 60 days to look at it. Same for notice of intended denial = they are being extended 60 days to give you opportunity to respond. They give an opportunity to prepare for asylum hearing.
- Most dates are being cancelled and you will receive a letter rescheduling you (probably next year). The unfortunate part is for those who requested for citizenship, they are delayed, and you cannot swear in. it puts people in a limbo because they are not moving forward. If you have an application pending, it’s still supposed to be worked on, it’s just the face to face that is being closed. If you have need biometrics in your application, they are using your old biometrics for your new card. If you have an application, you should put your application in.
- I suggest getting at least a consultation with an attorney and ask all possible question you can.
- There are still people in detention that have not been released yet.
- For visa waivers, they are giving you 30 days to get things in order. For those who have it you have 30 more days to leave the US.
- Chatroom Links: www.barrielawcenter.com
Sharing Resources
This topic was covered by Harriet Shangarai, nurse practitioner and Montgomery Country Liaison for Africans. She aimed to provide individuals, families and businesses resources for assistance. The highlights from her discussion are as follows:
- There are 12,380 cases in Maryland and highest 20904 and 20906 are the zip codes with the highest number of cases where most black people live.
- Education is key and asking to join taskforce created by the county to educate those around us.
- For those who have lost their jobs, there are emergency paychecks for Maryland residents that will provide benefits so that you can get cash and access to foods and counseling centers. All these services are accessible online, they are closed to the public.
- The Care Act with stimulus check where families are getting $1,200 to $2,400 if you are registered and get benefits in your bank account.
- Maryland residents can apply to Medicare and Obamacare is open to new enrollments due to coronavirus. For Montgomery county there is care for kids program so that everyone has access to healthcare.
- For those that do not have health insurance and think you have covid-19, Medstar has a video chat for free and if your symptoms and meet the criteria of coronavirus they will send you a referral to get tested.
Resources shared by speaker:
