New York City's low-income, minority areas hit hardest by COVID-19, Cuomo says
FILE PHOTO: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a daily briefing at North Shore University Hospital, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Manhasset, New York, U.S., May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
New York City residents from low-income communities have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies at a higher-than-average rate, underscoring the disproportionate impact of the disease on people of color, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
Cuomo told a daily briefing that of the 8,000 people tested in low-income communities of the city, 27% had antibodies for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, compared with 19.9% in the general population.
People relax inside of painted social distancing circles inside of Madison Square Park as people adjust to living with the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Manhattan borough of New York U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The survey, which was conducted in coordination with Northwell Health and community churches, highlighted the devastating toll that COVID-19 has taken on black and Latino residents in the city's poorer neighborhoods, Cuomo said.
As an example, Cuomo said 43% of those tested in Morrisania, a low-income residential area in the Bronx, were positive for antibodies. Morrisania also had a 81% higher hospitalization rate than the city's average, he said.
"It is the lower income communities, predominantly minorities where we are still seeing an increase in the numbers," Cuomo said. "The spread is continuing in those communities and that's where the new cases are coming from."
A woman walks on the boardwalk, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
To combat the problem, Cuomo said the state was doubling its testing footprint in severely impacted communities to 44 churches.
Statewide, hospitalizations declined again on Tuesday, continuing a downtrend that started more than a month ago, Cuomo said. He said deaths increased by 112, up from 105 the day before, but about one fifth the daily totals in mid-April.
Even as the numbers improved, Cuomo urged New Yorkers to wear masks in public, citing previously disclosed data showing New York healthcare and transit workers and first responders tested positive for COVID-19 at lower-than-average rates.
A message on a wall reading "Stay home save lives" is seen, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
"How do they have a lower infection rate?" Cuomo asked. "They are wearing the mask. The mask works."
(reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago, Editing by Franklin Paul and Tom Brown)
Signs block the entrance to the Lifeguard Station at the beach, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidPeople relax inside of painted social distancing circles inside of Madison Square Park as people adjust to living with the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Manhattan borough of New York U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonA man walks on the road, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Far Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidA woman watches as a child plays on the beach, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidThe Flatiron building rises above empty streets near Madison Square Park as people adjust to living with the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Manhattan borough of New York U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas JacksonA man enters the boardwalk, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidPeople enjoy the boardwalk, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidA surf fisherman casts a line on the beach, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the on Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidA man walks with a child on the beach, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Rockaway section of Queens in New York City, U.S., May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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