STOCKTON, Calif. — Glory Magana, 38, is a comedian from Modesto. But, there was nothing funny about her contracting the coronavirus in June.
"People say it's a bad flu," Magana said. "I have had the flu and it was nothing [compared to the flu]. It was like a hundred times worse than the flu."
She believes she contracted the virus while at a beach and posted about her struggles on Instagram while battling the disease. Along with the virus, she also came down with pneumonia, which, she said, "it is not fun."
The Latino community accounts for 56% of the total coronavirus cases in California, with more than 170,000 confirmed cases, three times more than people who identify as Caucasian, the next highest demographic. In San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, cases among the Latino community are the highest.
- In San Joaquin County, nearly 30 percent of the cases are Latino.
- In Stanislaus County, 60 percent of the cases are Latino.
"Very importantly make sure we don't congregate at this time. That's just a very bad idea," Dr. Gil Chavez, an epidemeologist with the state's coronavirus task force, said.
He adds gatherings like Quinceañeras, weddings, family picnics and church gatherings are important in Latino culture, but those gatherings could lead to an increase in contracting the virus.
"Right now is not the time to do that," Chavez said. "So, we're asking people to really minimize that social mixing with many people."
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