State officials announced Wednesday that new data shows that the Latinx community has surpassed all other ethnic and racial groups in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Half of those who have been tested for the virus in Illinois have disclosed their demographic information, with 7.6 percent of those identifying as Hispanic. Of those 26,000 individuals, nearly 16,000 – or roughly 60 percent – have tested positive for the virus.
Gov. JB Pritzker said the state average has been 20 percent.
“Decades of institutional inequities and obstacles for members of our Latinx communities are now amplified in this pandemic,” he said. “And while we can’t fix generations of history in the span of a few months, we must advance equity in our public health response today, everywhere and anywhere we can.”
Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike highlighted resources available for Latinx and other communities, including free testing available at participating federally qualified health centers. Those tests are available regardless of insurance or citizenship status.
“I urge trusted community leaders to help get the word out there about available COVID-19 testing,” Ezike said.
There were 136 COVID-19 deaths reported on Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 2,974. Officials announced 2,270 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state’s total to 68,232 cases in 97 counties.
A total of 361,260 tests have been completed.
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