Ethnic Risk

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Anchor lead: What are the factors that lead certain groups of people to higher COVID-19 risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Black and Latino people, although they constitute a minority of the US population, are experiencing COVID-19 illness and death out of proportion to their numbers, data shows. Sherita Golden, Johns Hopkins vice president and chief diversity officer, says a number of factors are involved.

Golden: Many of these individuals live in crowded housing conditions that really creates a challenge to implementing social distancing. We really should call it more physical distancing just to prevent the spread of the infectious particles. Many of these individuals are in essential job areas, so cleaning and environmental services, food services, public transportation services, home health care. They don’t have the luxury of being able to work at home. On top of that many of these people are in jobs that don’t have paid sick leave.  :32

Golden says because of that, people will continue to work while ill. She recommends immediate multifactorial support from public health and government. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.