Michigan Sees Improving Coronavirus Numbers Among Black Residents
MICHIGAN — Michigan officials highlighted new data Monday from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services showing that progress has been made toward reducing the disparate impact COVID-19 has had on communities of color.
Officials created the Rapid Response Grant program to help local organizations continue the administration’s efforts to tackle racial disparities.
“The aggressive action we have taken in Michigan has no doubt saved thousands of lives, especially among our most vulnerable communities – people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “The work of the Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, spearheaded by Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, has helped us dramatically reduce the number of African Americans who have been impacted by COVID-19.
"We are not out of the woods yet, and must continue to do our part to save lives and protect our brave frontline workers. The Rapid Response Grant Program will help us continue this hard work and create a blueprint that states across the country can follow to protect their most vulnerable.”
While Black residents only make up 15 percent of Michigan’s population, they represented a staggering 29.4 percent of the cases and 40.7 percent of the deaths in the early days of tracking COVID-19 data based on race, according to data provided by the state in a news release.
In the past two weeks of available data, the state said it has seen significant progress in limiting the disparate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, with Black residents accounting for 8.2 percent of cases and 9.9 percent of deaths.
“We have reason to be proud of the hard work and progress made to reduce the disparate impact of COVID-19 on Black people," Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said. “However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are still in the midst of a pandemic that continues to take the lives of our friends and family.
"We still have work to do to tackle generations of racial disparities and inequality to ensure that all Michiganders can lead happy and healthy lives. And more than anything else we need to keep the Governor’s emergency measures in place to limit the spread of this virus, which we know causes disproportionate harm among people of color who start out in a more vulnerable position.”
Whitmer's administration has launched the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities to act in an advisory capacity to the governor. The task force studied the causes of racial disparities in the impact of COVID-19 and recommended actions to immediately address such disparities and the historical and systemic inequities that underlie them.
Through the task force, the state has distributed large quantities of masks to the public, launched social media efforts to target communities of color and increased coronavirus testing in communities of color.
Michigan has created the Rapid Response Grant program, which has awarded 31 grants for a total of nearly $20 million of CARES funding to local organizations, in order to continue tackling racial disparities amid the pandemic.
The grants must be used to address food and housing insecurity, provide technology and tablets, increase access to testing and flu vaccines, improve contract tracing, provide basic needs and fund operations.
This article originally appeared on the Detroit Patch
