Black Americans disproportionately hit by virus: Trump

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. is seeing "tremendous evidence" that African Americans are being impacted disproportionately by the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.

"We are seeing tremendous evidence that African Americans are being affected at a far greater percentage number than other citizens of our country," Trump told reporters at a White House press briefing.

"Why is it that the African-American community is so much -- numerous times more than everybody else? And we want to find the reason," he said, adding the black community is being impacted “three or four times more so” as opposed to others.

"We're going to have statistics over the next two or three days," he said.

The U.S. is doing everything in its power to address the "tremendous" challenge and will provide support, he added.

His remarks came after reports that black and Latino communities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

In Louisiana alone, a state of 4.6 million in the deep south, blacks have made up a highly disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths.

Despite making up around 32% of the state’s population, African Americans have accounted for more than 70% of the deaths caused by the virus, according to state data.

Nationwide, black Americans tend to have higher rates of chronic health conditions like hypertension, heart disease and diabetes than white Americans. The same is true for Latinos.

The conditions put individuals at greater risk for death caused by COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.