The coronavirus has had a disproportionate impact on minority communities across the country and New York City is no exception.
Two-thousand African Americans have died or are thought to have died from COVID-19 in New York City, the highest figure for any racial group, according to data released Friday by the New York City Health Department.
African Americans are more than twice as likely as whites to have non-fatal hospitalizations from coronavirus and twice as likely to die, the data show.
The disparity reflected what Mayor Bill de Blasio has called “clear inequalities” in how the virus is affecting the city.
The first three of five city-run, walk-in testing sites opened Friday in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island, targeting neighborhoods where the virus has been particularly deadly. Two other testing sites, one in Manhattan and one in Queens, will open Monday.
The city has also started a multi-lingual information campaign targeting 88 zip codes where the impact has been disproportionately high.
