'The bone aches — you feel they're just gonna break': Hispanics in Memphis face COVID-19

Daniel Connolly
Memphis Commercial Appeal

It started with a cough, Pedro Hernandez Jr. said. The 20-year-old from South Texas, now living in Memphis, soon went through a bout of illness that included nausea, vomiting, body aches, sore throat, fever and loss of his sense of smell and taste.

He tested positive for COVID-19. Then his father, Pedro Hernandez, who lives in the same home, got the virus, too, and went through his own days of fever, loss of smell and taste, and uncontrollable shivers. 

"The bone aches — you feel they're just gonna break," the father said. But the illness passed, and both father and son recovered.

Elsewhere in Memphis, Jose Jacobo Perez would not recover.

Originally from a small village in Guatemala, he was part of the Maya Mam indigenous group, said a pastor who knew him. He had moved to Memphis years ago to earn money to send home to his wife and family, the pastor said.

A Facebook post shared by the organization Indigenous Pastoral Relief describes the death of Guatemalan immigrant Jose Jacobo Perez in Memphis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 5, he succumbed to COVID-19 at Regional One Hospital, the pastor said. He was 67.

These are some of the stories among more than 2,800 Hispanics who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Memphis area.

Local statistics show Hispanics in Memphis are more likely than other people to contract the new virus. Hispanics make up an estimated 6.6% of Shelby County's population, but they represent at least 22% of those who have tested positive, according to health department data. Missing ethnicity data on some test-takers means the true percentage is probably higher. 

As of Friday, seven of the 214 people who died of COVID-19 in Shelby County were Hispanic, according to the health department — that's 3%. One factor might explain why the death count among Hispanics remains relatively low: the virus is deadlier to older age groups, and the area's Hispanic population skews young.

Most Hispanics in Memphis are immigrants from Mexico or Central America or are children of immigrants. Many factors make this group especially likely to contract the virus. 

Many Hispanics work in hands-on jobs that can't be done remotely, such as construction, restaurant and logistics work. Immigration problems mean that some are ineligible to receive government aid, such as unemployment insurance, which increases the pressure to go to work, no matter what.

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly among the Hispanic population of Memphis and 20-year-old Pedro Hernandez Jr. (left) is among those affected. He recently contracted the virus and recovered. His father, Pedro Hernandez, contracted the virus as well and described going through excruciating pain.

And many live in multi-generational households, with grandparents, adult children and young children staying together. If one person gets sick, the virus can quickly infect everyone in the home.

Lack of health insurance and language barriers may limit access to health care, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

Many of the social factors that make Hispanics especially vulnerable to COVID-19 also apply to Black people.

At the national level, Black people have a COVID-19 hospitalization rate approximately five times that of white people, the CDC says. And Hispanics have a COVID-19 hospitalization rate about four times that of whites.

However, in Shelby County, case numbers among Black people don't show the same disproportionate levels as among Hispanics.

About 54% of people in Shelby County are Black , according to census figures, and Black people account for 46% of confirmed COVID-19 cases, though missing data means the percentage is likely higher. Black people account for 61% of documented COVID-19 deaths in Shelby County.

Facing a fast-spreading virus within the Hispanic population, local health officials and nonprofits are working to bring this group public health information, masks, tests and other resources. But big obstacles remain, including lengthy delays in test results. 

A hug and a kiss that a father would regret

Pedro Hernandez is now 49. He was born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. as a child, and spent most of his adult life in Weslaco, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border. 

About four years ago, he and his family relocated to Memphis to join two sisters who live here. He does consulting work for a local school, mostly in recruitment, and he and his wife also lead an Assemblies of God church serving a Hispanic congregation.

He's married and has two children: a 21-year-old daughter and Pedro Hernandez Jr., 20. 

Until recently, the son worked for a company that installs plumbing systems for swimming pools.

The son said he got the virus first, and doesn't know how. He said before he got sick, he rarely wore a mask.

"Because I'm always working, I could have got it from work. I could have got it with my friend. I really don't know. I could have got it anywhere."  

One of his friends from work also got the virus, he said.

The son's symptoms began on June 13. "It started with a cough — you know it was just like a cough in my throat. It didn't hurt or anything."

The following Wednesday, June 17, he woke up for work and felt body aches and what he thought was a bit of fever. He took some Tylenol, but right after lunch the symptoms started again: a bad headache, dizziness and body aches.

So he went to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis on Walnut Grove, where he received a COVID-19 test.

He got instructions to isolate from others and went home. When he arrived, his mother and sister stayed away, but his father said he was eager to see how his son was doing. He did something he would later regret. 

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly among the Hispanic population of Memphis and 20-year-old Pedro Hernandez Jr. (left) is among those affected. He recently contracted the virus and recovered. His father, Pedro Hernandez (right) contracted the virus as well and described going through excruciating pain.

"I kind of hugged him, gave him a kiss," the father said. "He was feeling warm, so I realized I shouldn't have done it, but I'm just used to it." 

He said he greets his son this way all the time and doesn't know if it was at that moment that he contracted the virus.

The following day, the son said he noticed his sense of taste was disappearing. 

Then on June 19, the son got a call: he had tested positive for COVID-19. "I got really sick, I had nausea, throwing up, body aches, fevers."

That Friday, Saturday and Sunday, his father felt extremely sick, too. He experienced fever and "non-stop, uncontrollable shivers."

"In my case, I felt my bones were just gonna break because of the pain I was feeling," the father said.

The father said he received his own positive COVID-19 test result on Monday, June 22. He said he has diabetes and other chronic health conditions that put him at higher risk. He said his doctor warned him that he would probably have to go to the hospital.

He stayed in the master bedroom, his son stayed in his own bedroom, and his wife and daughter stayed in other parts of the house and supplied the men with food.

The father and son recovered within a few days without having to go to the hospital. The women in the home never showed symptoms.

Testing backlog complicates outreach efforts

The father and son got their test results quickly — but that doesn't always happen.

The Church Health Center has held surge testing events aimed at Hispanics, but had to cancel one on Friday, July 10, due to delays in lab test results that can stretch five to 10 days, said spokeswoman Jenny Koltnow.

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly among the Hispanic population of Memphis and 20-year-old Pedro Hernandez Jr. (left) is among those affected. He recently contracted the virus and recovered. His father, Pedro Hernandez, contracted the virus as well and described going through excruciating pain.

Given that slow pace, the center's leaders decided it would be better to direct the patients to places that might turn around the tests more quickly, she said.

Koltnow said test delays disrupt family and work routines and can be especially disruptive for people in underserved communities, especially those who don't speak English.

Never going home again — a cremation in Memphis

Rev. Goyo De la Cruz Cutimanco originally comes from Peru and leads a Hispanic outreach mission at Aldersgate United Methodist Church. He says Jose Jacobo Perez was a faithful member of the congregation.

He had been living in the United States for many years without legal permission and was working in various factories to send money to his wife and other family members still in Guatemala, the pastor said.

"And he worked a lot so his children could study there," he said. Some of his children in Guatemala have already completed their schooling and become professionals, he said. One of his other sons lives in Memphis.

Jacobo Perez had been twice hospitalized recently with lung problems, and on the second hospitalization he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and died, the pastor said. It's unclear where he contracted the virus.

When immigrants die in the United States, their family members often pay for their bodies to be flown back to their country of origin for burial. However, the Guatemalan consulate has said the country is no longer accepting bodies due to the pandemic, so Jacobo Perez will likely be cremated in Memphis, the pastor said.

More information:Families vowed to keep loved ones' wishes for homeland burials. COVID-19 broke those promises

'Playing with death'

Many people across racial and ethnic groups are not following public health advice to prevent COVID-19 infection, including most famously President Donald Trump, who for months resisted his own government's advice to wear a face mask in public, until finally doing so on Saturday.

De la Cruz, the pastor, said he's concerned that some other members of his congregation could die just as Jose Jacobo Perez did.

"A good portion of them are taking precautions. They don't leave their house, they're always using masks. They're trying to avoid contacts. But the vast majority aren't." 

He's seen people continue to go play soccer or attend birthday parties.

The pastor said he's shared information about the virus and doesn't know why people aren't taking the situation more seriously. 

"They're playing with death," he said.

Hispanics who lived through the virus want to tell their stories

Mauricio Calvo, head of advocacy group Latino Memphis, said he recently took part in a video call with members of four Hispanic families affected by the virus.

In one case, a woman's husband had died. In another case, the virus swept through a household, infecting seven people.

They ranged from young children without symptoms to a man in his 30s who landed in a hospital. "When we spoke on Sunday, he had been in the hospital for 10 days," Calvo said.

He said he'd asked the people on the call if they'd be willing to share their experience in public service announcements, and some quickly agreed. Those announcements are part of a strategy that Latino Memphis is developing to address the virus.

Other groups are involved, too. The health department is working with Latino Memphis and the organization MICAH to provide free face masks in primarily immigrant communities, along with information in several languages, including Spanish, about how to wear and care for face masks and facial coverings, said health department spokeswoman Joan Carr.

The Church Health Center has made Spanish-speaking staffers available to Hispanic media, including live local Spanish-language radio. 

More information:Advocates ask governments to provide COVID-19 info in languages other than English

Pedro Hernandez, the father who was infected, believes public testimonies about personal experiences could help reduce infections among Hispanics.

He said before he got sick, he usually wore a mask in public places, but sometimes couldn't understand why people took further measures, like wearing face shields in stores.

"Even me, I would have an attitude and say 'You know what? It's just ridiculous. They're exaggerating.'" 

When he thought back on it later during his illness, he cried. "And then here I am in bed and I'm thinking about it and shedding some tears . . .  If my attitude had been different, maybe I wouldn't have gotten sick."

Investigative reporter Daniel Connolly welcomes tips and comments from the public. Reach him at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.