The COVID-19 pandemic is specially threatening to the black and the poor. In Brazil, data show that of the 10 neighbourhoods in the city of São Paulo with the most cases of the disease, eight are poorer and mostly black – a study by the city government pointed out that the risk of death if you’re black is 62% higher than that if you’re white in the city.

In Rio de Janeiro history repeats itself. The favelas have been one of the great epicentres of the disease, with 17% of its residents infected compared to an average of 7.5% for the entire city. The trend is repeated in other capitals across the country.

In the UK, BAME (Black Asian and minority ethnic) people are also amongst those most affected; 34% of critically-ill patients identified as such and 15.5% of deaths involved BAME people.

In the US the story continues. African Americans died from COVID-19 at almost three times the rate of whites. Making up roughly 13% of the US population, as of May, nearly 23% of reported COVID-19 deaths were African American.

But the situation could be even worse. In Brazil, and especially in Rio de Janeiro, the absence of the state is heavily felt – however, the state always appears through the Military Police in violent actions against residents of the poorest communities.

Full article at Apolitical’s website. Date of publication: 30/06/2020.