While the virus can attack anyone at any time, some populations have been harder hit than others — and testing and contact tracing in these communities will likely take more effort, according to Iton and other public health experts.
“Contact tracing, that’s never going to work, particularly in the African American community where trust is a big issue, if we don’t have a solution that works directly with the black community,” said Dr. Stephen Lockhart, chief medical officer with Sutter Health in Northern California.
Statewide, African Americans account for about 10% of coronavirus deaths, even though they make up only 6% of California’s population.
Latinos make up more than half of the cases and about 38% of the deaths while they are 38.9% of the population, according to the California Department of Public Health, which tracks coronavirus cases and deaths by race and ethnicity.
Iton, a former Alameda County public health officer, is among those trying to develop efficient contact tracing and testing among communities of color.
