Hispanic Communities Suffer Outsize Pain in Latest U.S. Covid Surge

(Bloomberg) -- The newest wave of Covid-19 is inflicting outsize pain on Hispanic communities in the U.S.

The seven-day average of new cases in heavily Hispanic areas became worse than in those with smaller such populations earlier this month, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate has broken a record every day since Dec. 3.

Currently, there are on average 85 new cases per 100,000 people in counties where the population is almost half Hispanic -- 32.6% higher than the national rate. Predominantly Black areas, unlike Hispanic areas, have reported below-average new case rates for months.

Rising infections in Hispanic areas underscore deep, persistent inequities in the way coronavirus has harmed the health and livelihoods of vulnerable groups. Hispanic and Black Americans are 2.8 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than White people, and those groups have been shown to be more worried about receiving the vaccine.

One reason for the outsize spread in Hispanic communities may be the size of the outbreak currently roiling Southern California and neighboring counties in Nevada and Arizona. San Bernardino and Riverside counties reported more than 20,000 cases for the week ended Dec. 12, while Los Angeles saw over 70,000.

Nationally, the U.S. posted 193,384 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the seven-day average to a record 213,293, Covid Tracking Project data show. There have been at least 300,886 deaths attributed to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

According to Covid Tracking Project data:

• Arizona, Kansas, Tennessee and Delaware had among the highest new cases per million people. Connecticut was also high, though weekend reporting delays can inflate the state’s numbers.
• No states reported single-day case records Monday.

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