Early data shows the coronavirus is hitting black and brown Americans especially hard. But spotty government data collection and publication could prevent resources from flowing to the communities most ravaged by the pandemic.<
In Florida, five counties have revealed that black and Latino Covid-19 patients are getting hospitalized and, in some places, dying at higher rates than white patients. In Michigan, African Americans make up 14 percent of the state’s population but accounted for 33 percent of the Covid-19 cases and 41 percent of deaths as of Monday.
And when Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday that his state would begin releasing preliminary data on race and coronavirus deaths, he said he had a “disturbing” note: “Slightly more than 70 percent of all the deaths in Louisiana are of African Americans.” Continue reading.