SALEM — When Salem City Councilor-at-Large Domingo Dominguez got back from church January 11, he realized that something wasn’t right. His body was “feeling different” and he had a headache and fever.
“My body told me that something was going on,” he said.
It was COVID-19.
Dominguez isolated at home for a night, and then admitted himself to the hospital.
“The first night was the worst night of my life, and the second worst was when I was admitted to the hospital,” he said. “It was very dark. I thought I was going to die.”
While hospitalized, Dominguez discovered that his wife, his mother, his brother, and one of his children had also been infected with the virus.
“The combination of that and how I feel, hit me very hard psychologically,” he said. “Especially my mom, who is 87 years old. I thought she wasn’t going to make it. But her faith was very strong and she motivated me.”
Thankfully, the entire family was able to beat the virus and are now largely recovered.
Though Dominguez still feels fatigued and his senses of taste and smell have not returned, he is thankful he and his family are healthy again.
“I feel like I’ve come back to life,” he said. “God gave me a chance to come back and do what I love to do: take care of my family and community.”
Dominguez pointed out how the Latino community has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
“It’s everywhere,” he said. “You see Black and brown communities get hit hardest by COVID-19. We are the most vulnerable when it comes to housing and work. We can’t afford not to go to work — we need to put food on the table. And also the lack of education — sometimes there isn’t a very direct message to our community.”
Dominguez, 55, immigrated from the Dominican Republic in 1984, living in New Jersey, Tennessee and New York, before settling in Salem 22 years ago.
He worked in Salem as a teacher and a business owner, before being elected as a City Councilor-at-Large in 2017–the first Latino man to serve in that role. (Two Latina women, Claudia Chuber and Lucy Corchado, have also served as Ward Councilors).
“I saw a need for representation for a community that was growing and growing,” he said.
After his experience with the virus, Dominguez lauded the city for its handling of the crisis.
“I think the city has done a good job, we had a great public health campaign under the leadership of our mayor,” he said. “When I was admitted to the hospital, I saw how professionally they were managing the crisis.”
This year on the council, he wants to focus on delivering “real affordable housing” to the city, along with continuing to educate the public about the dangers of COVID-19.
“I want to tell people that this is real,” he said, “and to follow all the protocols that the professionals have given out to save peoples’ lives.”
