A look at roughly 3,300 deaths of COVID-19 patients across the U.S. finds that 42% of victims are black, far outpacing the share of black population in the states and cities where data is available.
The data came mostly from large, racially diverse cities and states, but even in states where non-white populations are large, the impact of COVID-19 was outsized, particularly on the black community. The effect was so large that even if the 1,200 death cases that the AP excluded from its analysis because they were recorded as “race unknown” turned out to be white patients, blacks still would be overrepresented in the share of cases — and even more so in the share of deaths.
ZIP code data in New York City released last week showed that black, brown and immigrant communities are disproportionately represented among the diagnosed virus cases and deaths. On Wednesday, the city’s Department of Health released racial data showing 27.5% of the victims whose race is known are black, although blacks are only about 22% of the population.
The agency has not publicly reported racial or ethnic demographic data for COVID-19 cases or tests performed across the country, although it had reported such data for previous virus outbreaks. And its own standardized form required for reporting COVID-19 tests and cases includes a section for indicating the race or ethnicity of those tested.
African Americans and members of some ethnicities share an additional vulnerability: They are overrepresented among workers like nurse aides, grocery store clerks, emergency dispatchers and public transportation employees who cannot telecommute. That forces them out into the general public at a time when others are under strict stay-at-home orders.
The pastor of a black church in Baton Rouge was one of Louisiana’s first confirmed coronavirus deaths, followed days later by the loss of a Shreveport clergyman known for his street ministries. The virus claimed one of the state’s most revered musicians, Ellis Marsalis, along with a popular New Orleans DJ who was a leading figure in the city’s bounce music scene.
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