FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2020
Contact: Hugh Espey, 515-282-0484 @hugh@iowacci.org
Additional CDC Data On Race, Covid-19, and Meatpacking Plants Corroborates Exisiting Evidence That People of Color Likely Make Up A MAJORITY of Positive Cases In Iowa
Governor Reynolds puts corporate profits before worker safety and public health by refusing to participate in national studies or publicly release accurate information by zip code, race, or ethnicity
Des Moines, Iowa --
A new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 87 percent of meatpacking plant workers infected with Covid19 in 21 states were people of color.
Governor Reynolds refused to participate in the CDC study, but its findings strongly corroborate "the fullest look yet at the racial inequity of Coronavirus" in Iowa by the New York Times.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) released an exclusive analysis of the NYT dataset on July 7 which found that people of color made up 56% of all Covid19 cases in Iowa where the race and ethnicity were known.
Iowa CCI members demand Governor Reynolds immediately issue a #MaskUpIA order to protect all Iowans, especially essential workers of color. For more information, visit www.staysafeiowa.com
"Iowa may have the worst racial disparity in the country for Covid19 exposure, infections, hospitalizations, and deaths," said Shawn Sebastian, a Senior Strategist for People's Action from Ames, Iowa. Iowa CCI is an affiliate of People's Action.
"A state government that is owned and run by corporate ag monopolies is killing essential workers of color for profit," said Juan Manuel Galvez Ibarra of the Iowa City Catholic Worker, a local-affiliate of Iowa CCI. "Governor Reynolds regularly takes money from Big Ag, refused to regulate meatpacking plants to save lives, and now the sick and the dead are disproportionately Asian, Black, and Hispanic workers."
People of color make up 4,802 out of 8,647 positive Covid19 cases reported in Iowa between March 8 and May 28 where the race and ethnicity of the patient were known. The cases closely track known and suspected outbreaks at meatpacking plants and other businesses where people of color make up a disproportionate amount of the workforce compared to white workers.
In Polk County, with a population that is 84 percent white, 1,060 out of 2,012 positive cases analyzed were people of color, or 54 percent of the total. In Black Hawk County, 85 percent white, 674/1,143 positive cases were people of color, 59 percent.
In Linn County, 88 percent white, 254/790 cases were people of color, 32 percent. In Johnson county, 83 percent white, 140/344 positive cases were people of color, 41 percent.
In Crawford County, 91 percent white, 198/221 cases were people of color, 90 percent. In Woodbury County, 86 percent white, 995/1,242 cases were people of color, 80 percent.
In Marshall County, 91 percent white, 391/556 cases were people or color, 70 percent. In Louisa County, 165/239 cases were people of color, 69 percent.
In Wapello County, 93 percent white, 177/269 cases were people of color, 66 percent. In Pottawattamie County, 95 percent white, 86/156 cases were people of color, 55 percent.
In Dallas County, 90 percent white, 278/527 cases were people of color, 53 percent. In Muscatine County, 89 percent white, 180/397 cases were people of color, 45 percent.
In Dubuque County, 91 percent white, 33/123 cases were people of color 27 percent. In Washington County, 96 percent white, 34/143 cases were people of color, 24 percent. In Scott County, 86 percent white, 51/264 cases were people of color, 19 percent.
The 8,647 Covid19 cases in Iowa where racial and ethnic information was available is 26 percent of the total 32,856 positive cases reported in Iowa as of July 9. There is evidence that these racial disparities continued into June and July.
For example, in Buena Vista County, which has a population that is 82 percent white, 44 out of 59 positive cases analyzed where the racial and ethnic information was known were people of color, or 75 percent. There are now a total of 1,724 positive cases in Buena Vista, and over 645 of them were attributed on one day to the Storm Lake Tyson plant, where workers of color disproportionately represent the workforce.
Allamakee County is 96 percent white and Governor Reynolds has suppressed zip-code data to prevent everyday Iowans from connecting the oubreak there to the area's meatpacking plant. But according to CCI's analysis of the CDC/NYT data, Hispanics made up 42/53 cases where the racial and ethnic information was known, or 79 percent. There are now a total of 135 cases there.
In a similar way, new outbreaks in June in Story County, Johnson County, and Black Hawk County were first reported not at bars and restaurants but inside university basketball and football programs, where student-athlete-workers are disproportionately people of color. Many bars, restaurants, and grocery stores also have workforces made up disproportionately of people of color.
People of color also make up a disproportionate amount of inmates in Iowa's county jails and state prisons, where several Covid19 outbreaks have happened, such as the Fort Dodge Correctional Center.
Iowa's Coronavirus website is misleading on the issue of race. They show a high proportion of positive cases as white without noting that the census category "white" that they use includes most people who identify as Hispanic or Latino, since the latter ethnic identity is a separate question.
Because of this, many of the "whites" reported in the racial category and the "unknowns" reported in the ethnic category on the state website are likely Hispanic or another racial/ethnic minority.
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