Data gathered by some US cities and states show African Americans have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. (file photo)
Iran says "rampant racism" emanating from the administration of US President Donald Trump is to blame for the disproportionate number of African-Americans dying of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
In a Wednesday tweet, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the United States has failed "disastrously" in handling the coronavirus outbreak due to "rampant racism and class inequality in the age of Trump."
The tweet further highlighted the increased racial discrimination in the US, referring in particular to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery - a black man lynched by a white ex-cop and his son - and Breonna Taylor, who was mistakenly shot dead in a botched police raid, as well as the "skyrocketing" number of African-Americans dying of the COVID-19.
A recent study in the United States provided more evidence that the coronavirus is killing more African-Americans than whites or other ethnic groups, highlighting longstanding disparities in access to health care and economic opportunity.
US cities and towns with higher black populations account for more than half of all COVID-19 cases and almost 60 percent of deaths, according to the study conducted by four universities and two health organizations.
African-Americans represent 13.4 percent of the American population, according to the US Census Bureau.
A May 13 report by The Washington Post warned that a pandemic of stress is also threatening the Black Americans already devastated by the COVID-19.
The report said the stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic will have profound implications for the mental and physical health of black Americans and will have a dangerous impact long after the novel coronavirus has been contained.
"The virus is not only killing black Americans in disproportionate numbers, but is also forcing them to risk their health and their lives as essential workers, to care for loved ones who become sick and to attempt to self-isolate in crowded living conditions," it added.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/17516
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