The death toll of Blacks in Chicago who died from COVID-19 has climbed to 818 as Black neighborhoods continue to lose more residents to the disease, according to the latest data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Testing sites popped up in Chicago’s Black neighborhoods last weekend to help curb the spread of COVID-19 cases as residents remain indoors under Governor Pritzker’s stay at home order.
Although city and state leaders made strides in opening testing centers in Black neighborhoods, questions remain why these efforts came so late as cases and deaths soared in communities on the South and West Sides.
Early last month, Lightfoot created a task force to help Black neighborhoods after she released a report that shows COVID-19 disproportionally affected Blacks more than any ethnic group despite making up just 29 percent of Chicago’s 2.7 million population.
“Our entire city has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, but we haven’t experienced this crisis in the same way, with some of Chicago’s communities—especially communities of color—grappling with disproportionately high numbers of cases and even deaths,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
