A Tale of Three Cities: COVID-19 in Florida’s most vulnerable populations – By Josh Salman (USA Today) / April 13 2020
With Cuban neighborhoods in Hialeah emptied due to COVID-19 lockdown, crowds turned to socialize over coffee at the pick-up service windows in South Florida known as “ventanitas” – forcing the city to ban the gatherings.
An hour north in Lauderdale Lakes, the city with Florida’s highest concentration of black residents is bracing for an uptick in cases, with many of its sick already at higher-risk due to underlying issues like diabetes and hypertension.
On the state’s Gulf coast, officials in the retirement community of Punta Gorda started ordering emergency supplies immediately after the first positive tests in Florida, knowing its elderly could be in jeopardy.
As coronavirus spreads across the nation, Hispanics, African-Americans and seniors are falling sick and dying in disproportionate numbers. The stakes are high in Florida, where one in five is aged over 65, and pockets of state are deeply rooted with Cubans, Haitians and other minorities.
Florida was also one of the states late to issue stay-at-home orders. With the numbers exploding in recent weeks – and nearly 17,000 cases confirmed as of early Friday – officials are scrambling to protect their vulnerable populations and convince them of the risk the virus poses.
Continue to article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/04/13/coronavirus-florida-cities-populations-facing-increased-covid-19-risks/5135524002/
