DES MOINES, Iowa - A collection of interest groups is asking Governor Kim Reynolds and the state to direct businesses to take steps to protect workers from COVID-19/coronavirus.
Immigrant and labor groups, including the American Friends Service Committee and the Center for Worker Justice have signed a letter asking for the actiom.
Numbers from the Iowa Department of Public Health show a disproportionate number of black and hispanic workers have tested positive for COVID-19. Seventeen-point-three percent of Hispanics, who make up 6.2 percent of Iowans, have tested positive. Nine-point-two percent of African Americans, who composed 4 percent of the state population, have the virus.
The Iowa Department of Public Health said it's addressing at the issue during Governor Kim Reynolds Wednesday press conference.
“We know that there’s a higher instance of underlying health conditions that make these particular populations more susceptible to more serious COVID complications,” said IDPH Deputy Director Sarah Reisetter. “We also know that we have larger numbers of these populations that work in businesses that have not been ordered to close at this time, such as food manufacturing businesses.”
The health department says there are typically more people living in one home among the Black and Latino communities, which makes social distancing more difficult during the outbreak.