Mississippi Shows Wide Racial Gap in Impact of Coronavirus

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — New Health Department numbers show a wide disparity in how COVID-19 is affecting black and white Mississippians. According to information out Wednesday, 72% of Mississippi residents who have died of the virus were black and 28% were white. That’s based on cases with “full information” available by Tuesday evening. About 38% of Mississippi residents are black and 59% are white. The Health Department says Mississippi has more than 2,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 67 deaths. Gov. Tate Reeves is urging churches not to have in-person Easter services. He says he’ll decide by Tuesday whether to extend school closures beyond April 17.