“There’s been no changes so far, everything is the same,” Calzadillas said. “Many of my co-workers say it’s like we’re immortal, we’re working just the same. There’s no prevention, and we keep working.”
The 31-year-old is one of many workers on farms operating as essential businesses in the heart of California’s farm-rich Central Valley, supplying food to much of the United States even as schools, restaurants and stores have closed down because of the virus.
The coronavirus crisis has drawn fresh attention to farmers’ critical role, with residents finding some supermarket shelves cleaned out by people stocking up and then hunkering down in their homes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the threat of contracting COVID-19 from food or food packaging is low. Farmers and workers are mostly concerned about passing it to each other....
