NYC Coronavirus Data Reveals Disparities Across Wealth
With more than 107,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the five boroughs of New York City as of Tuesday, if it were a sovereign nation, the city would be the sixth worst-hit country by the coronavirus. Not only is New York grabbing attention for being the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. but for also revealing stark disparities in how the pandemic is disproportionately affecting low-income communities.
TIME’s director of data journalism Chris Wilson analyzed the most recent data from New York City, compared against income data for each ZIP code released by the IRS, and confirmed what was already suspected: the negative effects of the coronavirus across the city are highly uneven and are being felt more in poorer neighborhoods. The ZIP codes in the bottom 25% of average incomes represent 36% of all cases of the disease, while the wealthiest 25% account for under 10%.
The New York City data include confirmed cases and the number of tests administered, allowing us to conclude that “there is in fact a very strong negative correlation in that the lower the average income of the ZIP code, the larger the percentage of testing that came back positive,” Wilson says. “Higher income areas had tremendously more tests that came back negative.”
Wilson posits that there’s still a lot we don’t know about who gets tested and why. Since we have a resource-strapped health care system and you can’t just walk into your local pharmacy to pick up an affordable coronavirus test, smart choices need to be made about who should be tested, he notes.
There is some discretion among health care providers in choosing who should be tested and decisions can vary based on symptoms, travel history and exposure to anyone with a confirmed case of COVID-19. “What we’re seeing is that those with higher incomes have the means and the ability to get tested for less apparent cases than those with lower access to health care,” Wilson says.
“There’s disparity not only in contracting the virus but also in access to testing by income,” he adds. “We should remember that access to testing is arguably as important a public health resource as treatment if you are positive. The earlier you catch it, particularly if you’re more vulnerable, the better your odds of survival are.”
These disparities in infection rates and testing are probably not limited to New York City. The income distribution in the city, says Wilson, “pretty much resembles the nation” as there are a “small number of very wealthy ZIP codes,” and a much larger number of lower-income neighborhoods with a household annual income of below $50,000. What’s more, a growing patchwork of evidence is emerging that suggests around the country, low-income communities, particularly those with a high minority population, are disproportionately suffering from the outbreak.
The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 2 million, with more than 132,000 deaths reported as of 3:30 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, April 15.
Here is every country with over 20,000 confirmed cases, as of Tuesday 8 PM eastern time:
The World Health Organization has expressed its displeasure about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to announce funding cuts for the organization. “The U.S has been a longstanding and generous friend to WHO, and we hope it will continue to be so,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today. “We regret the decision of (Trump) to order a halt in funding to WHO.” Tedros said the WHO would review the impact of any withdrawal of American funds and “work with our partners to fill any financial gaps we face and to ensure our work continues uninterrupted.”
Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. would cut off payments to the WHO during the coronavirus pandemic and that the “WHO failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable.”
Global leaders have also hit back at Trump for pulling funds from the WHO. Among those who have criticized the U.S. president are the German foreign minister, the African Union chairman and a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, according to the New York Times.
South Koreans headed to the polls today to vote in parliamentary elections. South Korea has had success flattening the curve through aggressive contact tracing, extensive testing and travel restrictions. It is the first country with a major coronavirus outbreak to hold nationwide elections since the pandemic began. Officials said they would be taking precautions, including regularly disinfecting polling stations, checking temperatures and providing voters with hand sanitizers and plastic gloves before entering a polling station. And wearing a mask would be mandatory.
Africa’s already-vulnerable food supply is dwindling because of strict measures restricting movement due to coronavirus. Lockdowns in at least 33 of Africa’s 54 countries have blocked farmers from getting their food to markets and many of the informal markets where locals buy their food are shut, the Associated Press reported.
Even during the pandemic, the U.S. is continuing to deport migrants to Guatemala. The country’s health minister is not happy about it and said Tuesday that these deportees from the U.S. were contributing to an uptick in Guatemala’s coronavirus cases.
The Situation in the United States
More than 614,000 people in the U.S. had contracted COVID-19, and more than 27,000 died from it as of 3:30 p.m. eastern time on April 15.
Major airlines in the U.S. will get some economic relief—$25 billion in federal aid to be split between them so they can keep and pay employees, the Treasury Department said Tuesday. Meanwhile, pilots who take either of the two antimalarial drugs touted by Trump to use for COVID-19, will not be allowed to fly , U.S. aviation regulators say. The Federal Aviation Administration, as well as medical experts, say there is “no satisfactory scientific evidence” that using chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine prevents COVID-19 infection or decreases its severity and are urging pilots to stay clear until more studies have been done.
Wildfires in the U.S. will likely be even more difficult to put out in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. To contain these kinds of fires, thousands of firefighters usually work in close quarters for weeks, while federal guidelines emphasize the need to practice social distancing. Some wildfires have already broken out in Texas and Florida and agencies are still working to figure out the best ways to respond, the Associated Press reports.
All numbers are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of April 14, 8 PM eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Why There Are No Winners in Trump’s WHO Funding Freeze
Public health experts say that President Donald Trump is clearly making a damaging decision by withdrawing funding from the WHO. One expert referred to Trump’s decision as “a crime against humanity.” Another accused the president of “trying to rewrite history to divert criticism from his own administration’s failures,” warning that “lives will be lost as a result.” Read more here.
The Only Way This Ends Is With a Free Global Vaccine
Many countries are still struggling to stem initial coronavirus outbreaks while others have sharply reduced new daily cases, but it’s likely the only way to stop rolling outbreaks is to end coronavirus transmission across the world. “An effective vaccine will both prevent people getting COVID-19 and also curb transmission,” Gavin Yamey, physician and professor of global health and public policy at Duke University, writes for TIME. Read more here.
It’s All About Testing
There’s only one way to get the U.S. back to work: testing. Even without a vaccine, which could probably take a year or longer to develop, comprehensive testing could help the country inch back towards normalcy, Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and Robert Bazell, adjunct professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at Yale, write for TIME. Read more here.
A Nonprofit Shifting Gears to Decontaminate Millions of N95 Masks
Battelle, a Columbus, Ohio-based research and development nonprofit, helped invent compact disks and barcodes. Now, it has transformed its business almost overnight. It is using old decontaminating technology to efficiently disinfect masks and other PPE. Read more here.
The Dalai Lama Says We Need More Than Just Prayers
“Prayer is not enough,” the Dalai Lama writes for TIME. The answer, he says, lies in science: “We must combine the courage doctors and nurses are showing with empirical science to begin to turn this situation around and protect our future from more such threats.” Read more here.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder on How Our Elections Need to Change—For Good
As Americans wrestle with keeping healthy and casting their votes, former attorney general Eric Holder, who is now the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, says one thing is clear: “Democracy doesn’t stop in the middle of a pandemic.” Holder spoke to TIME about essential electoral reforms that can help protect your vote specifically with regard to COVID-19—changes he hopes can outlast the pandemic. Read more here.
It’s Our Turn to Take Care of Domestic Workers
As doctors and nurses receive much-deserved praise for their work on the frontlines, domestic workers have not received such applause. Ai-Jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, writes for TIME about the “nannies caring for children so that their parents can go to work in medical centers,” the “home-care workers keeping loved ones who are elderly comfortable and safe in their homes so they are not exposed to the virus” and the cleaners making sure homes and hospitals are “sanitized and safe for everyone.” Read more here.
Let Marie Kondo Help You Out With All That Clutter
If you’re one of the many people who is practicing social distancing, you may have clutter piling up at home. (Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.) Marie Kondo shares her wisdom with TIME about the best way to make our living spaces more liveable. Read more here.
We Can’t Let the Virus Infect Democracy
In responding to COVID-19 outbreaks, some countries may also be taking their aim at democracy Maria Ressa, CEO and executive editor of the Filipino news site Rappler, writes for TIME. Countries like India, Brazil, Jordan and Thailand are cracking down on press freedom and freedom of expression. Some nations are employing intrusive surveillance to track the movement of citizens or using their newfound power to consolidate control and marginalize dissent, she says.
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