CAPAC Members Urge Trump to Translate COVID-19 Resources

On Friday, Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) chaired by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) sent a letter to the White House urging the Trump administration to ensure that limited English proficient (LEP) Americans, including millions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, have access to federal programs, materials, and resources pertaining to COVID-19.

Materials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. However, other COVID-19 related resources like those released by the White House Coronavirus Task Force and several federal agencies are only available in English and Spanish.

“As your Administration continues to implement critical response measures related to COVID-19, we urge you to follow existing guidelines under Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” to ensure federally conducted programs and activities are accessible to everyone living in the United States regardless of their English proficiency,” the letter states.

As of Monday morning, more than 1.8 million people worldwide have tested positive for the virus and more than 116,000 have died.

In the US, almost 560,000 people have been positively diagnosed, and 22,000 people have died.

The government response includes three emergency relief packages that include critical funding for public health, research, and testing; unemployment insurance; direct payments to workers and families; nutrition assistance; and loans for both big and small businesses.

“Getting through this crisis will require the cooperation of our entire country,” Chu said. But that is impossible if we needlessly exclude the millions here who are limited English proficient. The guidance from this administration on how to keep yourself healthy and how to access resources to weather the economic downturn are vital, but their impact is blunted when entire communities cannot access them.”