During his COVID-19 press briefing on Monday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the creation of a Minority Health Strike Force to examine why the coronavirus seems to be worryingly affecting a disproportionate amount of African-Americans in the state.
#COVID19 is disproportionately impacting African Americans in #Ohio and the country. This is very concerning.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) April 20, 2020
The group includes minority business leaders, faith community leaders, and others, and this group’s membership will continue to grow.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) April 20, 2020
DeWine said, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health, 21 percent of those who have tested positive for the virus in the state are African-American, despite the fact that they make up only around 14 percent of Ohio’s population.
“We must recognize that there are many Ohioans who have an increased risk of being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and we must do everything we can to protect all Ohioans from this pandemic,” said DeWine.
Ursel J. McElroy, director of the Ohio Department of Aging and co-chair of Minority Health Strike Force echoed that statement, saying, “There has been heightened recognition across the country of the early indications that communities of color, in particular the African American and Hispanic communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and the illness it causes. So it is incumbent upon us, as we respond to this crisis as a state, including our path forward to restart, to address these issues. Now and in the days ahead we must act with a sense of urgency to raise the level of consciousness about these disparities and ramp up our efforts to address them. It’s just the right thing to do.”
You can see the full list of Strike Force members here.
This article appears in Apr 15 – May 5, 2020.