'Glaring' Racial Disparities Revealed in Louisiana COVID-19 Data

"Predominantly black communities in the New Orleans metropolitan area have infection rates for the coronavirus that are often far above those in nearby white communities," reports Jeff Adelson, sharing data published this week by the Louisiana Department of Health.

Adelson explains in more detail what the new data reveal about the racial disparities in public health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States:

Previously released data had shown the coronavirus was taking a far greater toll on black Louisiana residents than other races. As of Monday, about 59.3% of the victims who ultimately succumbed to the coronavirus in Louisiana were black, a rate about 1.8 times as high as the African-American share of the state’s population.

The new data divides known infections by U.S. census tract. It provides a stark look at the high rates of infections in predominantly African-American areas and its relatively lower prevalence in nearby white neighborhoods.

Louisiana is one of only a few states to provide data at such a granular level, making this reporting possible, including a lot more insight about what the data reveal about life in Louisiana. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, "announced efforts to do more thorough testing of the city's hardest-hit areas on Monday," according to Adelson.