Coronavirus cases tracked on the basis of race and ethnicity shows African-Americans represent a disproportionately higher number of deaths in California compared to their representation in the state’s population.
More than a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the California Department of Public Health would be tracking data that allows officials to analyze COVID-19 data on the basis of race and ethnicity, data has now been collected for 65 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases and 87 percent of deaths in the state.
According to that partial data, released the state health department Thursday, African-Americans and blacks — who make up six percent of California’s population — account for seven percent of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 11 percent of the deaths of people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
So far, the state has recorded 26,182 positive tests for the coronavirus to date and 890 COVID-19-related deaths. As of Thursday, race and ethnicity data has now been collected for more than 750 people who have died in the state.
Initial race and ethnicity data released last week showed coronavirus cases and deaths tracking roughly in line with the general population data in the state, but accounted for just under 40 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths recorded in California.
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders represent “another group of heightened concern,” state health officials said in a statement Thursday, but added that the number of deaths in that population is small, which could limit statistical comparison.
Of the 87 percent of deaths so far tracked on the basis of race and ethnicity, 1 percent were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. That group that accounts for just 0.3 percent of the state’s population.
The Latinx/Hispanic community, which represents 39 percent of the state’s population, has accounted for 38 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 31 percent of the COVID-19 deaths. Meanwhile, whites — who make up 37 percent of the population — represent 31 percent of confirmed cases and 38 percent of deaths.
Asians, who represent 15 percent of the population, have accounted for 13 percent of the confirmed cases and 16 percent of the deaths.
Newsom said last week the goal of collecting and analyzing data on the basis of race and ethnicity is to “make the data actionable.”
“In every category, we are doing more to be culturally competent in terms of our testing, our outreach, our communication and our capacity to deliver care to individuals that do get tested,” he said.
It is unclear which county health departments around the state have yet to report data for confirmed cases and deaths on the basis of race and ethnicity.
The California Department of Public Health also noted Thursday that more than 10 percent of the confirmed cases of the confirmed coronavirus in the state — 2,974 — have been recorded among healthcare workers.
