Why Chicago, Detroit And New Orleans Could Become The Next Coronavirus ‘Hot Spots’
Topline: After a week that has seen the U.S. surpass both China and Italy for the most reported coronavirus cases, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told CBS Friday that Chicago, Detroit and New Orleans may become “hot spots” next week as their number of cases grow— and officials say the cities’ high poverty rates are a key reason why.
- Experts say New Orleans may follow New York to become the epicenter of coronavirus in the U.S., as The Big Easy sees the world’s fastest rate of growth for new confirmed cases.
- On Thursday, a 17-year-old New Orleans resident reportedly died after contracting the virus, becoming the city’s 46th death, according to recent counts.
- Chicago hospitals are gearing up for an influx of coronavirus patients and the number of confirmed cases in Illinois has jumped to 2,538, with 1,149 of those in Chicago alone, according to the City of Chicago’s most recent numbers on Thursday.
- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfood said the city could see as many as 40,000 patients needing acute care, adding that number of hospitalizations would “break our healthcare system. This will push our city to the brink."
- Detroit has also been hit hard, with 851 confirmed cases as of Thursday and 15deaths— while the city makes up less than 10% of Michigans’s total population, it is home to almost a third of the state’s coronavirus cases.
Key background: One thing New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit have in common is a high level of poverty within the community, a factor experts say make the cities particularly vulnerable during public health crises.
Officials say New Orleans’ high infection rate is tied to widespread impoverishment in the community— in 2018, nearly 25% of residentslived below the poverty line— along with higher-than-average numbers of people living with preexisting medical conditions and a lack of access to healthcare and affordable housing.
“I think many people fail to recognize the conditions in which poor and African-American New Orleanians struggle to survive every day. [The city has] higher rates of blood pressure, and higher rates of diabetes, and other diseases and conditions that are likely to increase fatality rates from this virus,” Allison Plyer, The Data Center’s chief demographer, said in an interviewafter releasing a study Wednesday that looks at how poverty affects coronavirus rates.
Officials say similar things about Detroit, the U.S.’s most impoverished large city. Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive said Thursday that Detroit is more at risk to the coronavirus pandemic because of its poverty rate. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 37% of Detroit residents live in poverty.
Milwaukee
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Black epidemiologists matter are supposed to be releasing a study soon, highlighting the upcoming battle. Right now they’re getting no publicity from any national media sources. Please support them.
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