Multidisciplinary Community-Based Investigation of a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Marshallese and Hispanic/Latino Communities — Benton and Washington Counties, Arkansas, March–June 2020

Center, Katherine E.; Da Silva, Juliana; Hernandez, Angela L.; Vang, Kristyn; Martin, Daniel W.; Mazurek, Jerry; Lilo, Emily A.; Zimmerman, Nichole K.; Krow-Lucal, Elisabeth; Campbell, Ellsworth M.; Cowins, Janet V.; Walker, Chastity; Dominguez, Kenneth L.; Gallo, Bill; Gunn, Jayleen K.L.; McCormick, Donald; Cochran, Cassie; Smith, Michelle R.; Dillaha, Jennifer A.; James, Allison E.

By June 2020, Marshallese and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) persons in Benton and Washington counties of Arkansas had received a disproportionately high number of diagnoses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite representing approximately 19% of these counties' populations (1), Marshallese and Hispanic persons accounted for 64% of COVID-19 cases and 57% of COVID-19-associated deaths. Analyses of surveillance data, focus group discussions, and key-informant interviews were conducted to identify challenges and propose strategies for interrupting transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Challenges included limited native-language health messaging, high household occupancy, high employment rate in the poultry processing industry, mistrust of the medical system, and changing COVID-19 guidance. Reducing the COVID-19 incidence among communities that suffer disproportionately from COVID-19 requires strengthening the coordination of public health, health care, and community stakeholders to provide culturally and linguistically tailored public health education, community-based prevention activities, case management, care navigation, and service linkage.