HARTFORD, Mich. — Hispanic and Latinx individuals have experienced a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases in Van Buren County, health department officials said Friday.
While these individuals make up just 11% of the county’s population, they make up 56% of positive coronavirus cases, according to a news release.
The Van Buren/Cass County Health Department plans to focus its strategies on the community through increased prevention awareness, testing availability and accessibility and by connecting communities of color to other resources that support basic needs like food and housing, the news release said.
Factors like living conditions, work circumstances, underlying health conditions, lower access to health care are often exacerbated during public health emergencies.
For example, multi-generational homes can make it easier for the virus to spread, and they’re more common among Hispanic and Latinx families, officials said.