Data showing the pandemic’s impact on black Mississippians is consistent with findings from other places reporting on racial demographics and their disparate effects on African Americans. These rates are calculated based on full information available. They may not reflect all cases. The new demographic data from the health department is available for all areas and is not broken down by counties. However, the state reports the total number of cases in each county. Rural areas are also affected, even though the state’s most severe cases are concentrated in Hinds and DeSoto counties. The worst affected areas include the counties of Wilkinson, Bolivar, Tunica, and Tippah, which have 37 cases per 10,000 people, and Bolivar and Tippah, with 17 cases each for 10,000. Bolivar, however, has eight ICU beds. Three of these counties do not have any intensive care unit beds. Tunica doesn’t have any hospital. Most of the rural counties that see the highest per capita number of cases are predominantly black. Tunica and Wilkinson have black populations exceeding 70%. Bolivar County has 64 black residents. Mississippi reached the 2,000-case mark on Tuesday. 67 people died. The newly released race data shows that there are 1,122 African Americans who have known cases, 741 people of white and 140 others. 48% of African Americans died, while 19 whites have also died. New data shows that deaths are broken down by race and underlying health conditions. On Tuesday, the majority of deaths occurred among African Americans suffering from heart disease. This was closely followed by African Americans who have diabetes or high blood pressure. Mississippi has 16 percent black adults with diabetes, compared to 13.5% for white adults. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 411 deaths per 100,000 people in Mississippi are due to cardiovascular disease. This is compared with 341 deaths per 100,000 people for whites. The data was compiled by United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings. According to data from the state’s health department, women are more likely to be infected with coronavirus and end up in hospital. Black women are the most vulnerable in the state’s low-wage workforce. They also fill the most cashier jobs, which is where they are most at risk. There are 64,000 licensed nurses, registered nurses, home health aides, and medical assistants in Mississippi. About 35 percent of them are black. Experts say Mississippi has the fourth highest rate of uninsured African Americans at 16 percent. This can lead to disproportionately poor health outcomes. Mississippi also refused to expand Medicaid under Affordable Care Act. Now-Gov. Tate Reeves was against “Obamacare” expansion. Reeves stated that his position on Medicaid expansion remains unchanged. We have to ensure that every Mississippian who is infected with the virus has access to medical care. This is something we are doing. Prioritization is important. We don’t have to allow everyone to sneeze to go and get tested. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist, announced Tuesday that deaths and cases were beginning to show a disproportionate effect on the black community. He said that it was likely due to underlying medical conditions and “troubling” in Mississippi. This is not a new phenomenon. This is not a new phenomenon. Byers stated Tuesday that COVID-19 can have a disproportionate effect on individuals who have underlying, chronic health problems. Others have gradually begun to release race information, with similar impacts on African Americans. Although Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina reported similar data to each other, experts believe that this data should have been released sooner and more widely. Anna Wolfe contributed to this article.