The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) reported this week that more than 3,000 people have died from COVID-19.
Approximately 2,150 of the dead were white, 450 were black, and 260 were Hispanic, according to updated statistics released Monday.
The Republican American (RA) reports there have been 116 deaths of African-Americans per 100,000 people, compared to 89 per 100,000 for whites, 44 for Hispanics, and 17 for Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Late last month, DPH released data showing that the state’s Latinos are dying at lower rates than non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans, who have the highest death rate.
DPH spokesman Av Harris said the anomaly in the data may be a result of the Latino community’s younger, healthier population — or the result of a lack of information. The state has race and ethnicity information for only about half of those they know have been infected and/or have died.
“We don’t have a complete picture,” Harris said.
SUGGESTION: CT Latinos suffer high COVID-19 infection rates as their jobs force public interaction
Margarita Alegria, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School said more Latinos are becoming infected with coronavirus because they don’t often have the option of working from home or the luxury of quitting a job they fear is putting them in harm’s way. “Their jobs are the only jobs available and they need them to support their families,” she said.
According to a recent report by AARP, research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that fewer than 20 percent of black workers and roughly 16 percent of Hispanic ones are able to telecommute. About two-thirds of employed Hispanic adults say they would not get paid if the coronavirus caused them to miss work for two weeks or more, a Pew Research Center survey found.
“African Americans and Latinos and other minority groups are the ones out there in the warehouse, emptying food trucks, delivering your Grubhub or Uber Eats. They’re out there at risk” for catching the coronavirus.”
Stephen Thomas, a professor of health policy and management and director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity at the University of Maryland School of Public Health
DataHaven early analysis suggests higher rates of detected cases among Black and Latino residents than average and higher death rates among Black residents.
The statewide infection rate continued to increase Monday, while hospitalizations for COVID-19 continued to decline, reported RA.
Public health officials reported 33,675 people in Connecticut have tested positive for the coronavirus, up 211 from its previous report.
The first COVID-19 death in Connecticut was reported on March 18, and fatalities crossed the 1,000 milestone on April 17. A little more than three weeks later the death toll tripled.
