8
IN DE
THE RUBICON
IN THE FACE OF A
PANDEMIC
Marginalized groups are at risk EVELYN LILLEMOE
CHIEF VISUAL EDITOR
COVID-19 has thrown the United States into a crisis, but many of the problems Americans are facing in the wake of COVID-19 are not new; they have been around for decades. American systems are and have been failing, and the COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted it. Many of the problems Americans are facing with COVID-19 expose the systematic problems within how the United States operates. It has taken a crisis to show many Americans that our systems are failing marginalized communities every day.
VOTING ACCESSIBILITY (OR LACK THEREOF) In Wisconsin, a supreme court election was held on Apr 7 despite many calling for the election to be postponed due to health concerns in the midst of the intensifying pandemic. Voters had to choose whether to risk getting themselves and others infected to vote or to not vote at all. This was just one way it is clear a pattern emerges; voting, a fundamental right for American citizens, is systematically denied to large populations in indirect ways. Voting has never been accessible to all, it has been purposely denied certain groups of people. In 2018, a law was passed in North Dakota that required documentation of a street address in order to vote. This prevented thousands of Native Americans from voting as there are often not street addresses on reservations. This also prevented people who were homeless from voting. Among other groups that have been disenfranchised are incarcerated Americans, and Americans with disabilities. COVID-19 has given us another way that this is happening and shows us that something needs to be done to ensure all citizens of the United States have access to their fundamental right as an American.
IT HAS TAKEN A CRISIS TO SHOW MANY AMERICANS THAT OUR SYSTEMS ARE FAILING MARGINALIZED COMUNITITES EVERY DAY. HOMELESSNESS
While Americans across the country are being told to ‘shelter in place,’ some people don’t have anywhere to stay. On a single night in 2018, 552,830 people were experiencing homlessness according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. America’s homeless are among the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who are homeless are usually living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. They also often depend upon public resources such as libraries, public bathrooms, and public transportation, as well as programs and services that provide basic needs like shelter and food. Even when these resources are open and running, it is hard for many homeless people to access these services and many people go hungry or without shelter every night.
PRISON AND ICE DETENTION CENTER CONDITIONS The many outbreaks of COVID-19 in prisons, jails, and ICE detention centers throughout the country show the lack of safe and sanitary conditions for prisoners and detainees in the United States. Information about COVID-19 in prisons, jails and detention centers is not abundant because most institutions are not releasing much data and because testing is not very accessible or widespread yet, but there is some data. According to The New York City Department of Correction, as of Apr 5, 273 inmates at Rikers Island have tested
positive for COVID-19, and at least one inmate has died due to the virus. Many inmates at Rikers Island and other prisons and jails across the nation have spoken out about the lack of ability to social distance, lack of access to things like soap and masks, and lack of access to adequate healthcare. The unsanitary and unsafe conditions for inmates is not just an issue now that coronavirus is spreading. Inhumane living conditions in prisons have been a constant issue throughout the history of the United States. According to the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, essentially all chronic illnesses are more common in incarcerated people than the general public with an estimated 40% of all inmates having a chronic disease. According to the Bureau of Justice, found that from 2015 to 2016, death rates went up with the leading cause of death being chronic illnesses. Prisoners should not be forced into unsanitary conditions nor should they then be denied suitable healthcare.
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HEALTH DISPARITIES purple over 1,000 cases BETWEEN RACES red 100-400
care.10-100 There are many factors yellow As the United States is still that create those obstacles inbluecluding less than 10 cases in the midst of the pandemic, disproportionate povthe statistics about the virus erty, lack of education, food aren’t complete, but based on deserts and red-lining. These the numbers that have been factors contribute to chronic taken, it is clear that race plays conditions that put them at a a part in the mortality rate of higher risk in general, but this COVID-19. APM Research Lab is especially true in relation to gathered mortality statistics COVID-19. According to the from 12 states and four local- Center for American Progress, ities, with only some reports Black people, Native Ameridetailing race or ethnicity. Also, cans, Alaska Natives, Native Native American mortality rate Hawaiians and Hispanic peowas not covered in this report. ple have higher rates of chronic Looking at all the data gath- illnesses, and are often more ered by the APM Research Lab, likely to die from those illnessBlack people have made up es than white people. These 32% of the deaths despite mak- health disparities show that ing up only 13% of the popula- not everyone gets equal access tion. This means Black people to healthcare, some groups are are dying 2.4 times what would at a much higher risk than othbe expected. This is a reflection ers. This is represented in the on health disparities between COVID-19 mortality data, but races and possibly health care it is a problem that has existed discrimination. Health dispar- for a long time, and it will take ities between races come from a lot of work to fix it. systematic obstacles to health-
THE HEALTHCARE ISSUE One of the most obvious problems contributing to the COVID-19 pandemic is the lack of access to affordable healthcare in the United States. Now more than ever, people should not worried about going to the doctor because they cannot afford it. Healthcare is something that too many Americans struggle with. Many have to choose between their health and their financial stability every day. According to the Commonwealth fund, 41% of working age people, or 72 million people, have problems paying medical bills or are in debt due to medical bills.The Commonwealth Fund also found that nearly two thirds of adults under the age of 65 in the United States struggled to pay medical bills or had medical debt, were at some uninsured or underinsured for a period of time, or went
