Governors and mayors laid out plans to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections among their most marginalized communities as figures show minorities are at much greater risk of succumbing to the pandemic.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said 25 per cent of COVID-19 cases in her state as of a few days ago were found to be among Native Americans, who only represent six per cent of the state’s population. Since not everyone in tribal communities has access to water and electricity, that creates additional challenges.

“We’re looking at a regional strategy to support the leadership at the Navajo Nation between Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico,” she said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Efforts so far include setting up field hospitals and triage centres and delivering food through the National Guard.

“And I will tell you that the Pueblo nations in New Mexico have really looked at containment strategies for their community,” said Grisham, a Democrat. “And we’re supporting that, right, where we have roadblocks, nobody in, nobody out.”

Native American health leaders urged the U.S. government weeks ago to ramp up their coronavirus response for tribal health services.

Urban centres

The mayors of Chicago and Washington D.C. said the virus was taking a heavy toll on black communities in urban centres. African Americans have a greater incidence of diabetes, heart disease and respiratory problems that can worsen COVID-19 outcomes.

“The kind of things we have been talking about for a long time that plague black Chicago — that lead to life expectancy gaps — this virus attacks those underlying conditions with a vengeance,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Chicago was tackling the problem by ensuring that data relating to demographics was collected during testing. The city is also putting together a rapid response team including health care professionals and community activists as part of a “hyper local focus” to help those neighbourhoods most at risk.

Chronic issues

Frontline workers employed by the city were also being provided with the right equipment to guard against the virus, including masks, gloves and training, as well as regular cleaning at places where they gather.

Mortality rates for black coronavirus patients in Illinois are five times higher than for white residents, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said on Friday.

And Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the virus underscored the disproportionate numbers of African Americans who suffer from chronic disease, as well as gaps in health care that have been around for generations.

There’s also the problem of substandard housing conditions for many African Americans, and links to asthma, Bowser said.

“While this is not new during the COVID-19 response, it certainly calls for national and local actions that are going to change the trajectory for African-Americans’ health outcomes in our nation,” she said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Coronavirus deaths in Washington over the past week have been almost exclusively among black and Latino populations. A rash of cases has been reported at the city’s homeless shelters and jails.

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Elsewhere, New York Major Bill de Blasio said the response to the crisis was being impeded by the high level of fear in immigrant communities, even among those who are documented, and laid the blame squarely on Washington.

“Because there’s a lot of people who have been so fearful, they haven’t been going to the doctor, they haven’t even gone out to health-care facilities — because they’re so worried about being deported and put in danger,” he told a news conference Sunday.