"Data on race and the disease Covid-19 is too limited to draw sweeping conclusions, experts say, but disparate rates of sickness — and death — have emerged in some places."

"In Louisiana, one of the states most devastated by the coronavirus, about 70 percent of the people who have died are African-American, officials announced on Monday, though only a third of the state’s population is black.

In the county around Milwaukee, where 27 percent of residents are black, nearly twice as many African-American residents tested positive for the virus as white people, figures released this week show.

And in Chicago, where African-American residents make up a little less than a third of the population, more than half of those found to have the virus are black. The death toll there is even more alarming: African-American residents make up 72 percent of those who have succumbed to the virus in Chicago.

“Those numbers take your breath away, they really do,” said Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, who announced the city’s figures on Monday. “This is a call-to-action moment for all of us.”"

Richard A. Oppel Jr., Dionne Searcey, and John Eligon report for the New York Times April 7, 2020. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Early Data Shows African Americans Have Contracted and Died of Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate" (ProPublica) [3]

"Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc In African American Neighbourhoods" (BBC) [4]

"Coronavirus Hitting Some African American Communities Extremely Hard" (CNN) [5]

"African Americans More Likely To Die From Coronavirus Illness, Early Data Shows" (Reuters) [6]