WEBVTT - The One-Two Punch to Black America

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day thirty six

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<v Speaker 1>since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Our main story

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<v Speaker 1>today the diseases assault on the black community. The number

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<v Speaker 1>of dead and very sick from COVID nineteen show the

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<v Speaker 1>outbreak has disproportionately affected Black Americans. But it's also dealing

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<v Speaker 1>an economic blow to the demographic that will be difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to recover from. But first, here's what happened today. More

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<v Speaker 1>than five million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week,

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<v Speaker 1>bringing the total to two million over the last month.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the fourth week of astronomical levels of jobless claims.

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<v Speaker 1>The level of unemployment is now so high it a

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<v Speaker 1>effectively erases a decade's worth of job creation. The CEO

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<v Speaker 1>of Airbus said I'm a call with investors that the

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<v Speaker 1>global aerospace sector is facing its greatest challenge ever. Demand

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<v Speaker 1>at the world's biggest planemaker has slumped, as airlines suffering

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<v Speaker 1>without passengers ground planes, and slash orders for new ones.

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<v Speaker 1>The numbers are just the latest in a string of

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<v Speaker 1>signs the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on individual

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<v Speaker 1>paychecks and businesses alike, and President Donald Trump is once

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<v Speaker 1>more talking about reopening parts of the economy. The President

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<v Speaker 1>told US governors on a conference call today that some

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<v Speaker 1>states would be able to reopen businesses and schools before

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<v Speaker 1>May one, when federal social distancing guidelines are set to expire.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not clear that individual governors will follow guidelines set

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<v Speaker 1>by the President, though Also today, New York Governor Andrew

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<v Speaker 1>Cuomo extended the state's lockdown for two more weeks to May.

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<v Speaker 1>And in Europe, some countries are cracking down even while

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<v Speaker 1>others weig loosening restrictions on movement. The UK added three

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<v Speaker 1>weeks to its restrictions as total infections exceeded one hundred thousand.

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<v Speaker 1>There may be one small bright spot for Americans who

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<v Speaker 1>have mourned the loss of live sports amid the outbreak.

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<v Speaker 1>Golf is coming back to the US, but don't expect

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<v Speaker 1>to hear that soft golf clap. The PGA announced Thursday

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<v Speaker 1>that an altered schedule of events will resume with the

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<v Speaker 1>Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, on June eighth,

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<v Speaker 1>but it and other games will lack a live audience,

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<v Speaker 1>and now for today's main story. Some cities and states

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<v Speaker 1>have released data on actual health outcomes from the new coronavirus.

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<v Speaker 1>Their reports are showing more and more that Black people

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<v Speaker 1>are dying at disproportionate rates to their percentage of the population.

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<v Speaker 1>The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that

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<v Speaker 1>Black people made up thirty three percent of all hospitalizations

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<v Speaker 1>for COVID nineteen, the disease caused by the virus. That's

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<v Speaker 1>more than double their share of the US population. In

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<v Speaker 1>New York, the epicenter of the outbreak, a recent statistics

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<v Speaker 1>showed Black people made up eighteen percent of deaths, but

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<v Speaker 1>we're only nine percent of the population. Recently, McKinsey and

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<v Speaker 1>Company released a report that shows it's not just Black

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<v Speaker 1>Americans health that will suffer. The virus will likely have

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<v Speaker 1>a devastating effect on their jobs and future earnings. I

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<v Speaker 1>recently spoke with Bloomberg reporter Donald Moore about some of

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<v Speaker 1>the social and economic factors that have led to higher

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<v Speaker 1>case and mortality rates among black communities. So, Donald, you

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<v Speaker 1>had a chance to talk to McKenzie and company about

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<v Speaker 1>this topic. Now they've just issued a report about the

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<v Speaker 1>impact of this virus on African American communities. What did

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<v Speaker 1>they find? Di did a study of the entire us

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<v Speaker 1>of areas that they call at risk that have lower

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<v Speaker 1>access to healthcare, fewer hospital beds, and what they found

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<v Speaker 1>was those areas tend to be predominantly African American. Off

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<v Speaker 1>the bat, Black African Americans tend to have lower access

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<v Speaker 1>to healthcare and tell us a bit more about these areas.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there other factors that Mackenzie and others have pointed

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<v Speaker 1>to as to why people in these communities have been

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<v Speaker 1>affected more by coronavirus. A big reason it's structural. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a term for what they call food deserts that refer

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<v Speaker 1>to places that have limited or even no access to

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<v Speaker 1>good quality fresh food. So for example, Detroit, for a

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<v Speaker 1>while in the two thousands, there wasn't a single grocery

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<v Speaker 1>chain in this any limits. So those areas tend to

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<v Speaker 1>be overrepresented by Black Americans. Like usually large cities, um

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<v Speaker 1>you know, underdeveloped areas when you don't have grocery stores

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<v Speaker 1>or farmers markets to go to. What they end up

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<v Speaker 1>doing is going to convenience stores or um fast food restaurants,

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<v Speaker 1>which are high caloric foods, lots of sugar, lots of salt,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, dunk food, and eating those foods tend to

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<v Speaker 1>lead to things like obesity, which leads to things like

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<v Speaker 1>hypertension and diabetes. And what about jobs in these communities

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<v Speaker 1>do those also play a role? So there's been a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of discussion over what we call central jobs, jobs

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<v Speaker 1>that have to be formed even during the lockdown to

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<v Speaker 1>keep society running, and Blacks tend to be overrepresented in

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<v Speaker 1>those jobs. So, for instance, even though Blacks are underrepresented

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<v Speaker 1>amongst physicians, they are overrepresented amongst nursing assistance thirty three

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<v Speaker 1>percent of nursing assistants to African Americans, forty percent of

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<v Speaker 1>orderly or African American, forty percent of psychiatricates or African American.

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<v Speaker 1>So you have these positions African Americans take up a

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<v Speaker 1>large share of where not only can they not socially

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<v Speaker 1>distanced from other people, but the people they are interact

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<v Speaker 1>with usually tend to be sick and in many cases

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<v Speaker 1>have coronavirus. What was the earning gap between Black Americans

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<v Speaker 1>and white Americans before all? This started before the pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>So the most recent numbers from the Economic Policy Institute,

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<v Speaker 1>Media and Black wages were about seventy three point three

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<v Speaker 1>percent of white wages in two thousand and eighteen, so

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<v Speaker 1>roughly three quarters of what whites make. Black Americans tend

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<v Speaker 1>to be overrepresenting the central jobs, but they're also overrepresenting

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<v Speaker 1>jobs that are more likely to be laid off. So

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<v Speaker 1>if you look at like the service industry for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>or retail, those jobs are essentially being shut down because

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<v Speaker 1>of the lockdowns in place all over the country, and

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<v Speaker 1>Black Americans tend to be overrepresented in those positions, so

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to be one of one of the first

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<v Speaker 1>ones to be laid off. As a community, Can anything

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<v Speaker 1>be done right now to curb consequences? Um, I'm thinking

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<v Speaker 1>in terms of say hazard pay or or even just

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<v Speaker 1>things like testing during the pandemic. Hazard paid definitely helps.

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<v Speaker 1>Increasing essential worker salaries give them a boost, especially when

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<v Speaker 1>there are a lot of African Americans who hold two jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>so they might have a job at a grocery change,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, but then they'll lose the job as a waiter.

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<v Speaker 1>So the hazard paid definitely helps in that regard. But

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<v Speaker 1>from what I've seen, what I've heard talking to experts,

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<v Speaker 1>the best way to help us is just increased testing.

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<v Speaker 1>They said to make sure that workers are safe, even

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<v Speaker 1>people who are laid off for safe or even the elderly.

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<v Speaker 1>The best way is to find out who's infected and

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<v Speaker 1>be able to isolate them so they don't inspect others.

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<v Speaker 1>As Donald and his Bloomberg co author Jeff Green point out,

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<v Speaker 1>predominantly black neighborhoods have been statistically less likely to get

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<v Speaker 1>tested for coronavirus, but that soon may change. Admiral Brett,

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<v Speaker 1>you are President Donald Trump's testings are said, the administration

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<v Speaker 1>is actively discussing adding minority group to the priority list

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<v Speaker 1>for testing. That was my discussion with Donald Moore, whose

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<v Speaker 1>article co written with Jeff Green, on how the coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>is hurting Black Americans was published this week on Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. And that's it for the Prognosis Daily Edition.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on the pandemic from our bureaus around the world,

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<v Speaker 1>visit Bloomberg dot com, slash coronavirus and one Small favor.

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<v Speaker 1>If you like what we're doing, please take a second

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<v Speaker 1>to rate the podcast and leave us a review on

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more listeners find our

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<v Speaker 1>global reporting. The Prognosis Daily Edition is hosted by me

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<v Speaker 1>Laura Carlson. The show was produced by me Tophor, forehead

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<v Speaker 1>Jordan Gospore and Magnus Henrickson. Today's main story was reported

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<v Speaker 1>by Donald Moore and Jeff green A digital music by

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<v Speaker 1>Leo Sidrian. Our editors are Francesca Levi and Rick Shine.

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<v Speaker 1>Francesco Levi is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>h