COVID19 Update - Day 163

US Tests: 69,580,676*

US Cases: 5,546,172*

US Deaths: 166,128*

Worldwide Cases: 22,526,192*

Worldwide Deaths: 790,262*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

This doesn't get as much attention as it should.  But today the Economic Policy Institute put out a report discussing how a global catastrophe like #COVID19 disproportionately affects people of color, because it exacerbates existing inequalities.  This report focuses on Latinx people, but similar stories can be told about Black and indigenous people as well:

The specific channels through which the virus has affected these communities varies. For example, Black workers have faced greater health insecurity due to higher prevalence of preexisting health conditions and overrepresentation in front-line occupations, while Latinx workers’ overrepresentation in jobs within some of the hardest-hit industries resulted in greater job loss at the start of the economic crisis, particularly among Latinas. Further, recent outbreaks have been concentrated in the Sun Belt states—particularly Arizona, California, Texas, and Florida—where a larger share of the U.S. Latinx population lives.

On average, Latinx workers have suffered greater economic distress than their white counterparts since COVID-19 began spreading. These outcomes have been driven by the fact that Latinx workers already had lower pre-pandemic wages, income, and wealth, as well as less access to health care and other important job-related benefits. This lower pre-pandemic level of economic security was in turn driven by a host of factors—including a bigoted immigration regime that has aimed to keep Latinx immigrant workers disempowered in the workplace.1 As the pandemic has spread, another symptom of this labor market disempowerment—inadequate workplace safety—has loomed particularly large.

This report centers the economic, health, and social conditions faced by Latinx workers during the pandemic and raises considerations for rebuilding a more just and equitable economy.