As American markets reel from the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color and other groups facing systemic injustice are experiencing the harshest consequences of this financial disaster. Update 5/7/20: More than 33.5 million people have filed for unemployment in the past four weeks since the spread of the current novel coronavirus hit the U.S. Worse, the Latino community is and will continue to face some of the harshest economic—as well as health—burdens from this disease. "We know that when the economy goes into decline, people of color always bear the brunt," Teresa Candori, communications director for the National Urban League, told USA Today. "We will be fighting to make sure the most vulnerable communities are not an afterthought."
Latinos and Coronavirus Job Loss by the ...
Many U.S. homes are not the safe havens we may think. In fact, with families locked down to slow COVID-19, police say domestic violence cases have risen up to 35% in recent days, NBC reports. Local and state leaders need to address the immediate needs of these victims. They also need to think about long-term solutions to reduce disparities in income and wealth accumulation, which COVID-19 is exacerbating, particularly among Latinas. “Women — and it is predominantly women who are victimized — are confined to isolated homes with abusive partners whose coercive and physically violent tendencies are enabled and further inflamed by economic stressors [due to coronavirus],” according to Natasha Lennard with The Intercept. If you or someone you know needs help, call the ...
Latino teens are more worried than their peers that they won't be able to keep up with school work or extracurricular activities amid coronavirus, says a new survey by Common Sense and SurveyMonkey. 70% of Latino teens fear falling behind in homework. 62% of Latino teens fear lagging in activities like band and sports. These are far higher percentages of worry about online, distance learning than their white (49% and 53%), black (66% and 54%), and other (40% and 50%) peers. How "real" is this teen angst?
Many Teens Are Not Connecting with Teachers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Coronavirus has shut down schools and fueled the rise of online, distance learning. But not all teen students regularly communicate with their teachers. One in four teens connect with teachers ...
The current novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is a respiratory illness — that means it harms the lungs more than other parts of the body. Many scientists say that COVID-19 feature pneumonia and affects the lung function, and is especially worrisome for those with weak lung or immune systems. Worse, many experts believe that if you smoke, or you're regularly around secondhand smoke, you may have a better chance of getting coronavirus. Smoking may also increase your risk of developing severe complications from the virus. "The lining of the respiratory tree becomes injured, causing inflammation," Dr. John Wilson, president-elect of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a respiratory physician, told The Guardian. "This, in turn, irritates the nerves in the lining of the ...
Systemic, health inequities impacting disadvantaged groups are rampant in America and they're causing those individuals to suffer worse, even fatal, COVID-19 outcomes. Early reports suggested that those disparities would play a role in the current coronavirus spread, making minority groups, including Latinos, more likely to suffer severe harm. Now, weeks into the American pandemic, early reports from hotbed areas—such as Oregon and New York City—are proving that prediction true. "There are clear inequalities, clear disparities in how this disease is affecting the people of our city," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Times. "So many people struggle to get the healthcare they need, who didn't have the money to afford the healthcare they deserved. So many ...
COVID-19 can affect anyone. But, in reality, it's worsening the health and social inequities facing U.S. Latinos. Now the pandemic is raising fears of racial/ethnic and income disparities in coronavirus exposure, testing, prevention via social distancing, and treatment. "As the number of cases rises, citizens are rightfully concerned about who is getting tested and who will receive treatment," writes health equity adviser Brian Williams in a column for the Dallas Morning News. "For those who exist on the margins of health care justice, access to life-saving treatment is never guaranteed."
Disparities in Coronavirus Exposure
We know Latinos are more likely than their white peers to suffer from poverty, underlying conditions, and a lack of quality housing and transit. They also ...
Experts say people who have underlying health conditions should guard against COVID-19. In fact, CDC now says that U.S. adults with diabetes, chronic lung disease, and heart disease are at higher risk for severe COVID-19-associated disease than people without these conditions. Latinos face a heavier burden for several of these conditions. The American Heart Association even warned elderly people with heart disease or hypertension. "Based on current information, it appears elderly people with coronary heart disease or hypertension are more likely to be infected and to develop more severe symptoms," according to AHA. "Stroke survivors may also face increased risk for complications if they get COVID-19" According to the latest report from State Department of Health, out of the ...
COVID-19 doesn't discriminate. But U.S. Latinos are more likely than all Americans to say the coronavirus pandemic changed their daily lives, and disrupts their mental health, finances, and jobs, according to new Pew Research Center surveys. "Latinos make up significant portions of the hospitality, construction, leisure and agricultural sectors of our labor market, and are the largest uninsured population in America," wrote Kristian Ramos, ex-spokesman for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, for The Hill. "These workers and uninsured families are unable to telecommute, will not be paid if their jobs are lost, and likely do not have immediate access to health care."
Latino Daily Life During COVID-19
Early on in the outbreak, Pew Research Center reported that a higher percentage of ...
Lack of access to healthy food, insufficient health insurance coverage, living paycheck-to-paycheck — all issues that have impacted U.S. low-income families for decades. Sadly, experts say these problems are worsening as the current novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread. This leaves the millions of men, women, and children, including the 3 million people who have recently lost their jobs, at risk of more issues than just becoming sick. Latinos—many of whom fall below the poverty line—could face significant hardship without a dedicated response from local, state, and federal leaders. "What we are seeing around the country is that we're operating and telling people to do things from the position of wealth," Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's ...
