Race plays a factor in COVID

“If one person gets [COVID-19] then it can very easily travel throughout the family,” said state Sen. Melanie Levesque of Brookline.

Levesque, who represents Nashua, said she spoke with a representative of the Latinx community in the Gate City who told her he is particularly concerned that there are some multi-generational households living in small spaces. She also said some undocumented immigrants may be fearful to seek help either due to lack of insurance or they’re afraid of being detained by immigration enforcement.

At first, state officials were not actively collecting racial demographic data as part of its COVID-19 tracking. Several hospitals responded to requests for information by saying they either did not have the information or could not share it without risking a violation of HIPAA privacy rules.

“I think the situation is constantly evolving,” Levesque said. “I don’t want to say they dropped the ball, but I think they’re learning as they go along that we need to track these statistics because we’re seeing throughout the country that that is a concern.”

Read more at NashuaTelegraph.com

Published April 24, 2020