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Marion County Public Health Department Director Virginia Caine
FILE PHOTO: Indianapolis Telecom and Video Services AgencyThe Marion County Health Department has released demographic data about people who have contracted COVID-19.
As of April 16 when the data was analyzed, Marion County had more than 3,300 cases of COVID-19 and counted more than 160 deaths. The county reports that black residents are three times more likely to get the virus than white residents and two times more likely to end up in the hospital.
Complications are often related to underlying health conditions including asthma and obesity.
“These health conditions, are more prevalent in the African-American community and, as a result, increase their chances of hospitalization and even death from this virus," says Marion County Public Health Department Director Virginia Caine in an email statement.
The county noted that racial data is not complete and missing in about a third of cases but would still not make a statistical difference.
The department also reports poorer outcomes for men than women in Marion County. Older residents are also more susceptible to complications from COVID-19.
Current totals for Marion County count more than 4,000 people having contracted the virus.
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