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COVID-19: In Color, By the Numbers (October 2020 Edition)

COVID

As of now over 7 million people have been infected in the U.S. and over 200 thousand have died. We dive deeper into the numbers for a more complete story. Inspired by the Harper's Index. Published on October 4, 2020. For more insight and resources at the intersection of COVID and race, check out these EmbraceRace curated, regularly updated lists:

The racial impacts of COVID
COVID Resources by race

  • Total number of US deaths due to COVID-19, as of September 28th: 204,888.
  • Percentage of the CDC's COVID testing data that included race/ethnicity identifiers as of September 28th: 51.
  • Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White children as percentages of US children who have died from COVID-19 as of July 25 (14 states): 27, 45, 20.
  • As percentages of all US children: 14, 26, 50.
  • Number of military veterans under the care of the Veterans Administration: 5.8 million.
  • Factor by which a Black or Latinx veteran is more likely than a White veteran to test positive for COVID: 2.
  • Percentages of Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native families without a computer in 2018: 17, 17, 16.
  • Of White and Asian American families without a computer: 8, 4.
  • Of Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native families without access to high-speed internet in 2018: 31, 31, 34.
  • Of White and Asian American families without access to high-speed internet: 21, 12.
  • Difference in per capita education spending for White and non-White students in the US: $2,200.
  • Share of Black and Hispanic Americans who have taken food from a food bank or other charitable organization during the pandemic: 1 in 3.
  • Share of White Americans who have: 1 in 9.
  • Number of children living in a household characterized by child food insecurity, as calculated in the third week of June 2020: 13.9 million.
  • Share of the 4 million children in New York State who experienced a parental or caregiver death due to COVID-19 between March and July 2020: 1 in 1,000.
  • Share of Black children in New York State who did: 1 in 600.
  • Share of Hispanic children in New York State who did: 1 in 700.
  • Percentages of Black, Latino, and Native American households who report using up all or most of their savings during the pandemic: 41, 46, 41.
  • Who say that they had no savings even before the pandemic: 10, 15, 9.
  • Percentages of Black, Latino, and Native American households in which at least one adult has lost a job or had wages reduced during the pandemic: 44, 63, 46.
  • Who report serious problems affording medical care during the pandemic: 18, 25, 12.
  • Odds that a Black or Hispanic voter’s mail-in ballot was rejected in Florida's 2018 midterm election compared to a White voter’s ballot: 2:1.
  • Time it takes for a certified first-class letter to get from Scottsdale, AZ to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office: 18 hours.
  • Time it takes for that letter to get from Dennehotso, AZ in the Navajo Nation to the Apache County Recorder’s Office in St. Johns, AZ: 10 days.
  • Number of postal outlets in the Arizona portion of Navajo Nation: 26.
  • Outlets in West Virginia, which is geographically similar in size to Navajo Nation: 725.
  • Percentage of US respondents who say that immigrants contribute a “great deal” or a “fair amount” to “providing medical care to people with the coronavirus, maintaining public services, and keeping grocery stores and other essential businesses open” (June/July 2020): 61.
  • Who say the same of undocumented immigrants, specifically (June/July 2020): 55.
  • Estimated number of undocumented immigrants doing work deemed essential to the nation’s critical infrastructure: 5 million.
  • Percentage of U.S. companies that put diversity and inclusion efforts on hold as a result of the pandemic: 27.
  • Percentages of Black and White voters who approve of Trump's handling of the COVID pandemic: 23, 53.

More COVID-19: In Color, By the Numbers

More Resources