Dr. Alex Garza, head of the newly formed St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said Wednesday that the disparities were “tracking along with what has been reported in other cities.”

In Chicago, for example, cases with racial data indicated about 72% of the city’s deaths were black people, though they make up just 30% of the population.

Garza said the issue isn’t necessarily about race, but about inequity. “We know that populations that are socioeconomically challenged that don’t have access to good health care, that don’t have access to nutritious food, are victims of many diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure … it’s an indication of social inequities that existed before this pandemic came around.”

Garza said 586 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday across the area, an increase of just one from the day prior. The number of people in intensive care decreased by six, to 233, and the number of people on ventilators was 186, the same as Tuesday.

But he cautioned against taking any relief from those numbers. “We know there are going to be days like that, but, make no mistake, we’re still on the steep part of the curve.”