By Staff Writer | April 6, 2020
CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city health officials announced Monday, in the city of Chicago, more than half of the COVID-19 cases are African Americans.
Data from the city show, African Americans comprise 30 percent of the population but makeup 52 percent of the city’s COVID-19 cases. African Americans also make up 72 percent of the city’s deaths from COVID-19.
There are many factors contributing to the high number of COVID-19 cases in the African American community. Black residents suffer from a higher rate of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and asthma, underlying health issues that appear to make the novel coronavirus more deadly.
“Seventy-two percent of our deaths here in Chicago residents have been in black Chicagoans, though, again, black Chicagoans just make up 30 percent of the city’s population,” Dr. Arwady said.
Pastor Phil Jackson said the COVID-19 numbers should be a wake-up call for a community that he said has not taken the virus seriously enough, especially some young people who are not social distancing.