California: Covid-19 affects Latinos most, in both cases and deaths

And the common theme is at least partially poverty

A man sits at a homeless encampment July 11, 2020, under the 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles, one block from Figueroa Street. Photo: Tatiana Prophet/Back to Facts.

By TATIANA PROPHET

In California, Latinos are the only group that has experienced both more Covid deaths and more Covid-19 positive cases than their percentage of the population.

Like Hispanics, blacks in California show more deaths relative to their population (9 percent of total Covid deaths), but a lower number of positive cases (4 percent of the total). With Hispanics making up 39 percent of the state’s population, and 45 percent of Covid deaths, the numbers are significant. Blacks are 6 percent of California’s population but show 4 percent of all Covid cases and 9 percent of all deaths. Asian, whites and blacks all tested positive in a proportion that is less than their percentage of the general population (see charts).

As to the cause of this higher incidence of effects from Covid-19, there could be a combination of factors. 1) Hispanics tend to suffer from diabetes more than the general population. 2) Like other people of color, they are exposed to more interaction simply by having to work no matter what is going on. 3) In California and Los Angeles, Hispanic families are more likely to live below half of the poverty threshold, or California Poverty Measurement.

California poverty relative to race or ethnicity. According to this study, the state’s overall poverty rate declined from 19.4% in 2016 to 17.8% in 2017. Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality with the California Public Policy Institute.

Source: State of California Covid-19 dashboard.