CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Pastors from churches across the Charlotte area have penned a letter sent to Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio regarding testing for COVID-19.
The letter calls for Mecklenburg County to take several measures to address testing for coronavirus in Charlotte’s African American communities.
One of the pastors involved in crafting the letter is Jordan Boyd of Rockwell AME Zion Church in Charlotte. He said he’s taken note of the fact that African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus.
The latest figures from Mecklenburg County show that roughly 43 percent of the county’s COVID-19 cases belong to African Americans. That is the highest percentage among ethnic groups in the county’s demographic breakdown. White people account for roughly 29 percent of the county’s cases and Hispanics account for about 18 percent of the cases.
“If this were a different group of people on another side of town and the number’s were switched, would the reaction be the same? I’m just asking a question,” noted Boyd in an interview with WBTV Thursday evening.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke with a reporter from Gray TV’s Washington D.C. bureau this week. He addressed the impact that COVID-19 is having on African Americans.
“The chances of my having hypertension or diabetes is much less than the general African American population and that’s the reason why they’re suffering disproportionately. They have the underlying conditions that seem to make coronavirus worse. In addition, often their access to good healthcare is not as good as the general population,” explained Fauci.
At the local level, Boyd and other clergy members are asking the county if more can be done to better serve the African American community during this pandemic. Their letter to the county manager lists a few different requests. It asks if the county can establish a mobile testing site within the African American community and if county officials can develop a plan of action to mitigate further expressions of dis-proportionality within the effected communities.
