US senator — without data — says NC Hispanics get COVID more due to not wearing masks
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Hispanics in his state have higher rates of coronavirus and are less likely to social distance and wear masks.
“Wear the mask out of respect. And I will tell you I’m not a scientist and I’m not a statistician, but one of the concerns that we’ve had more recently is that the Hispanic population now constitutes about 44% of the positive cases. We do have some concerns that in the Hispanic population we have seen less consistent adherence to social distancing and wearing a mask,” Tillis said during a town hall on Tuesday.
As of mid-June, Hispanics made up 44% of the around 30,000 confirmed cases in North Carolina, The News & Observer reported, citing state health officials.
“The community faces significant challenges, including multi generational households that make it tougher to social distance, and the increased exposure risk for essential workers on the frontlines who are keeping our economy running,” Tillis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo told McClatchy News in an email. “The government at all levels should assist the community in the fight to beat the virus and promote ways to keep residents safe and healthy, which is Senator Tillis’ priority.
“Senator Tillis has also been clear that not enough North Carolinians of all backgrounds have been wearing masks and has consistently advocated that all his constituents do so.”
Romeo also pointed to the comments made by North Carolina’s Secretary of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen and Duke University professor Viviana S. Martinez-Bianchi during a press conference in June.
“Latinx workers, you’re essential to the economy of North Carolina” Martinez-Bianchi said during the conference. “While others were able to isolate at home, you had to go out to work. You work in meat processing plants, in cleaning, in construction, in supermarkets, hospitals, and kitchens, in many cases, without access to personal protective equipment, such as this mask, which [is] so necessary to prevent the transmission of the virus from person to person.”
“The data is very clear that COVID-19 is having a dramatically disproportionate impact on Hispanic, Latinx North Carolinians, as it is across the country,” Cohen said. “Many in our Hispanic Latinx provide essential services, such as construction or childcare or food processing — industries that are not only the bedrock of our economy in normal times, they keep our state functioning and running while most of us are able to shelter at home.”
White adults are less likely to say they’ve worn masks compared to Hispanics, Black, and Asian Americans, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
Pew found 62% of white adults said they wore masks in businesses and stores in the past month, compared to 74% of Hispanic adults, 69% of Black adults, and 80% of Asian adults.
The survey was conducted from June 4-10 with a sample size of 9,654 people. The margin of error is 1.6 percentage points.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order in June to address the racial disparities in how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the state.
Cooper said Black people comprise 30% of North Carolina’s confirmed COVID-19 cases and 34% of deaths, despite making up 22% of the state’s population. Latinos are 39% of the COVID-19 cases despite making up 10% of North Carolina’s population.
“I want to be clear — there is nothing inherent to Black or brown people that makes them more susceptible to severe COVID-19 illness,” Cooper said during the press briefing. “The data should not be used to further racism or fear.”
There are more than 3.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of July 16, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 1,600 people have died in North Carolina from the virus.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 4:03 PM with the headline "US senator — without data — says NC Hispanics get COVID more due to not wearing masks."