Governor Cooper joins health care leaders to discuss pandemic’s impact on the Hispanic/Latinx community, signs executive order to extend Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council
RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper held a roundtable discussion to hear from health care and community leaders about the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Hispanic/Latinx communities and thank them for their dedication. The Governor also signed an Executive Order to extend the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs.
“This pandemic is shining a light on existing inequities in the Hispanic/Latinx community and having this Roundtable allows state government and me to hear first hand about the best ways to tackle these challenges,” said Governor Cooper. “We’re committed to addressing these disparities so we can build a healthier, more equitable future for all.”
The Governor was joined by N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D, N.C. Department of Administration Secretary Pam Cashwell, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Congresswoman Deborah Ross, N.C. Representative Ricky Hurtado, as well as members from El Futuro, Association of Mexicans in NC, Duke University Hospital, UNC Hospital, Hispanic Federation, Andrea Harris Task Force and other organizations that serve the Hispanic/Latinx community.
Governor Cooper signed an Executive Order to extend the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs. The Council was established in 2017 to help advise the Governor on issues important to Hispanic/Latinx North Carolinians.
In 2020, the Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Task Force was established by Governor Cooper to focus on economic stability, health disparities and environmental justice in communities of color across the state.
The Cooper administration has worked hard to ensure that Spanish-speaking communities have access to credible information about coronavirus and resources as well as equitable access to vaccines. The Governor’s COVID-19 briefings are translated in Spanish and NCDHHS launched a Spanish language vaccine website, Vacunate.nc.gov, to increase access to accurate information about vaccines including the location of vaccine providers across the state. The Healthier Together public-private partnership is developing strategies to increase access to vaccines to historically marginalized populations, including the state’s Hispanic/Latinx populations.
Read the Executive Order.
