“The virus doesn’t care how smart, how rich or how powerful you are”.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo chose, in a public allocution on March 28th, to undermine a crippling social and sanitary truth that’s been revealed by the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
Far from being an “equalizer”, the virus has mostly affected marginalized populations and low-skilled workers: the exacerbation of pre-existing inequalities in American society is taking a worrying toll on low-income Americans -especially Hispanic and African-American populations- and others who were already marginalized before the crisis hit. Whites in America are known to have a higher level of education and a higher level of income than other racial groups in America, and occupy 78 percent (2019 Report on Race in the Labour Force of the U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics) of all “white collar” positions, which essentially means they’re provided with better health insurance by their employers, and can afford to work from home throughout the lockdown, whereas coloured labour forces represent.
These blatant labour and healthcare access disparities find their roots in structural racism and inequality: In Detroit, where coloured populations occupy up to 80% of low-skill jobs, 44 percent of coronavirus victims as of April 9th were identified as being African-American, according to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
One of the insidious consequences of these disparities is the prevalence among black American of heart conditions and other chronic conditions related that come with their socioeconomic status, -malnutrition, lack of regular healthcare-. COVID patients affected by pre-existant conditions have, sadly, a much higher chance of dying from the virus.
The overall lesson of the pandemic in the United States so far is that while the virus can infect anyone, but those hit hardest by the crisis are the ones who were already hurting from racism, precarious housing, job insecurity and other affections that have been marginalizing Latino and African-American communities around the country. But establishing this statement is merely enough to design and implement efficient circuits that will outbalance the detrimental impact of the COVID outbreak on all lives. The impact of the pandemic, now and in the future, will likely remain concentrated among those who were already at a disadvantage before it hit, unless members of Congress act to remedy the inequities that made them vulnerable in the first place, and set up the country for a more equal recovery.
par Clara Porter
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