State says racial disparities of virus have diminished

LANSING (AP) — Michigan reported Monday that Black residents are no longer being disproportionately infected and killed by the coronavirus, after they accounted for a staggering 40 percent of deaths and 29 percent of cases in the early days of the pandemic.

For the last two available weeks of data, African-Americans represented 10 percent of COVID-19 deaths and eight percent of cases. They comprise about 15 percent of the state’s population.

They still account for at least 38 percent of confirmed and probable deaths overall, and at least 20 percent of cases. Some patients’ race is not always reported.

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II chairs a state task force that is addressing virus-related racial disparities. He credited people of color for being more likely to wear masks and follow safety guidelines, and said the disparities’ downward trend has been holding for at least a month.

“We still need to be careful as we come into the fall, as we come into the flu season,” he told The Associated Press. “But thanks to the state of Michigan paying attention to this issue, prioritizing this issue — we have the most muscular response to racial disparities in the country — we can say that those disparities have flattened. That’s a testament to people of Michigan and the work of the experts on the task force.”

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