FARMWORK IN THE ERA OF COVID-19.

• Author: Bacon, David
• Position: ON THE LINE

The infection rate from the coronavirus is much higher in the rural counties of California than it is in the cities. In Tulare County, more than 40,000 people had contracted the virus as of mid-January, and more than 500 people had died.

Yet throughout last summer and fall, farmworkers went into Tulare's orchards to harvest fruit. These workers are essential, since if they didn't do this work, the grapes, pluots (a plum and apricot hybrid), and persimmons would rot on the trees. Supermarket shelves would be bare.

But being essential during the COVID-19 era also means that farmworkers are forced to put themselves at risk of infection in the orchards, if they want to pay rent or buy food.

Most farmworkers wear masks or bandanas, which...