Race and COVD-19: Community-Based Rapid Response System
Los Angeles County surpassed 5,000 COVID-19 deaths on August 11, a grim local milestone arriving during a pandemic that has disproportionately impacted communities of color across California’s most populous county – with Latinx communities hit the hardest.
Longstanding systemic and racial inequities are fueling the pandemic’s spread. Shelter-in-place orders have kept the trajectory of cases steady in wealthier, white communities, but have been less effective in communities of color with fewer resources to shelter-in-place and jobs that cannot be done from home. While there initially was a lower prevalence of COVID-19 in higher-Latinx areas, cases have rapidly increased. By August 1st, higher-Latinx areas had 3.1 times as many cases as lower-Latinx areas. Latinx residents make up 49 percent of COVID-19 deaths across L.A. County.
Advancement Project California has developed a Hot Spot analysis to help identify the communities most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and at great risk of adverse outcomes. Identifying our hardest-hit communities by using COVID-19 case increases as well as area poverty and race is one way to help curb the unequal spread and impact in Los Angeles County.
As part of our interactive report – How Race, Class, and Place Fuel a Pandemic – Advancement Project California also included a set of recommendations crafted by community-based organizations leading the fight against COVID-19 in their neighborhoods. For the last two months public agency representatives, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations have collaborated to create implementation recommendations. We call on LA County to build on the collaboration and swiftly implement these and the other recommendations to turn the tide against COVID-19:
- Use hot spot analysis to guide and inform a surge of testing and other resources;
- Partner with trusted messengers in the community to develop a culturally relevant content and dissemination strategy;
- Activate existing community-based infrastructure with proven cultural competency to connect residents to testing and system navigation.
Los Angeles County has an opportunity to address the overwhelming impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. By leaning heavily on tapping CBOs and other non-profit organizations as essential partners in L.A. County’s pandemic response, we can diminish the spread of the virus in the most impacted communities.