Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 4-17-20

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Senator Wants Data On Impact Of Virus On Blacks
BY JERI YONDER
African Americans are dis- proportionately impacted by killer diseases above all other ethnic groups and therefore are extremely vulnerable to the Coronavirus that has swept across the nation. In the county’s hotspots African Americans are infected at alarming rates that double and triple that of Whites.
In a letter to Florida Sur- geon General, Dr. Scott Rivkees, Senator Darryl Rouson, (D) St. Petersburg said, “The impact of the Coronavirus on African Americans in Florida, has yet to be revealed. Florida has been slow to act on this pan- demic and I’m afraid Black people are suffering most. If that’s the case, we need to
take the proper steps, and utilize the necessary re- sources to remedy the prob- lem. But, we need to know what the data says.”
The following are ex- cerpts from Rouson’s let- ter to the Surgeon General.
Dear Dr. Rivkees, African Americans, Lati- nos, and other minori- ties are dispro- portionately affected by the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. The early in- dicators and sparse data is hard to ignore and a painful reminder of the inequality divide that still exists in America and is now showing up in our medical centers, testing sites, and unfor- tunately our mortuaries.
SENATOR DARRYL ROUSON
Major cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit and states like Louisiana have
tracked the COVID-19 devastation in communi- ties of color. In fact, the majority of the States are either not tracking or re- leasing racial and ethnic data on who is being tested and treated for the virus. This valuable in- formation would allow public officials to seek out areas of high con- cern and hopefully ad- dress and contain the spread. Today, renowned expert Dr. An- thony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Al- lergy and Infectious Dis- eases announced that African Americans are at a “higher risk” for COVID-19.
Minorities are less likely to have insurance, a primary care physi- cian, and have a higher probability of having pre-existing conditions. Pockets of poverty and homelessness, through- out our state, do not
allow for elbow room much less social distanc- ing. Politico reported that in Florida, five counties have revealed that African Americans and Latino COVID-19 pa- tients are getting hospi- talized and, in some places, dying at higher rates than white pa- tients.
We should be ahead of this as a state. I am ask- ing Florida’s Depart- ment of Health and your Surgeon General’s office to release racial and eth- nic data to properly in- form our minority communities across our state. It is important that the proper resources are marshaled to our most vulnerable populations. Sincerely,
DARRYL E. ROUSON Senate District 19 Senator Rouson says he expects Dr. Rivkees to deliver the data in a matter of
days.
Drive Through Only Food Drive
Farm Share, Inc., is hosting a Food Drive (drive through only) on Friday, April 17, 2020. Food will be given away 10 a. m. – 1 p. m., at Cyrus Greene Park, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The food drive is sponsored by the East Tampa Business and Civic Association.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020