(CNN Español) — 34% of the people who have died in New York City from covid-19 are Latino, the mayor of the city, Bill de Blasio, informed this Wednesday at a press conference. It is the ethnic group with the most deaths reported in the city so far, followed by black patients.
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De Blasio explained that these are preliminary data collected from the deaths registered in the city’s hospitals and does not include people who have died in their homes, although they say they are working on collecting this information.
Pre-existing medical conditions, less access to the healthcare system, and unstable jobs are contributing factors that make Hispanics and blacks more vulnerable to contracting the virus.
For example, black and Hispanic workers do not have the same opportunities to work from home, economist Heidi Shierholz told CNN. “There is racial and ethnic segregation in the workforce,” says Shierholz, who was also an economist for the US Department of Labor from 2014 to 2017.
De Blasio advanced some actions to reduce racial disparity in cases of coronavirus:
Focus on hospitals: continue to equip medical centers with the necessary equipment, especially those in the worst affected areas such as Elmhurst, Corona in Queens.
Launch an educational campaign: focused on informing minority communities in 14 languages. The idea is to enter immigrant communities.
Work with community clinics: that doctors working in those communities educate the population.
Strengthen the call system to line 311: that workers who serve this line can serve the population in their language
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