ASHEVILLE – Latinos are disproportionately represented in confirmed local coronavirus cases, Buncombe County’s top health official said.

Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, the county’s interim public health director, made the statement during a May 11 afternoon community update on the COVID-19 pandemic. Other takeaways from the update included reports of people being mocked for wearing masks, Mission Hospital reporting it has only two infected patients and that the hospital has seen what its chief medical officer called a concerning decline in people seeking care for dangerous non-coronavirus conditions, such as heart attacks and strokes. 

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Officials said community social distancing actions have stopped cases from spiking to dangerous levels, but that residents should continue to take precautions to prevent a surge in cases. Those include staying home when possible, washing hands, wearing masks in public and keeping 6 feet from people not in your household.

“Due to historic and present day inequities created by structural racism, communities of color are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, both nationally and locally,” Mullendore said. 

“Our local data shows that 34% of lab-confirmed cases in our county have been of individuals who identify as Latinx.”

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Just 6.7% of Buncombe residents identify as Latino or Hispanic, according to a July 2019 U.S. Census estimate.

As of noon May 11, there had been 102 confirmed coronavirus cases with four fatalities, health officials said. Mullendore said over 3,100 tests of county residents have been completed. 

She noted that Buncombe will resume free testing May 12 and 14. It is not recommended for those without symptoms, unless they have been around someone who is infected or work in health care or a long-term care home.

Mission: Cases down; Another concerning trend

At Mission Hospital, community actions to “flatten the curve” in terms of case numbers have had positive results, said Chief Medical Officer Bill Hathaway, another official speaking at the community update.

Mission has had 34 COVID-19 patients come to the hospital, Hathaway said. Four were taken to the emergency department and later discharged, “six were admitted and most unfortunately passed away,” Hathaway said. Twenty-two were admitted and later discharged. “And today we have two patients in the hospital with COVID-19.”

Hathaway said plans to double or triple the intensive care unit are ready, but the need for ICU beds or ventilators has been low compared to what is available “and we are grateful for that.”

The hospital has begun to allow elective procedures and slightly loosened visitation rules, allowing one visitor to accompany a patient during a surgical procedure, but not overnight. 

More:Free coronavirus testing returns to Buncombe

More: Mission, area hospitals see alarming drop in patients as COVID-19 fears keep people home

He said he wanted to “emphatically” emphasize that the hospital was a safe place to get care right now, with any COVID-19 patients kept apart from other patients. Across the state, people seeking heart attack and stroke care have dropped 25-30%, he said. 

“That is not because the disease has gone away,” Hathaway said. “To me, that’s a reflection that people are avoiding care. And there is nothing worse that you can do than to stay at home if you need emergency medical care.”

Reports of mask-wearers ‘berated’

County officials have gotten word of people being insulted for wearing masks, said Buncombe Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Fletcher Tove, another speaker at the update.

“We received several reports of people being mocked or berated for wearing a face covering in public,” Tove said. “This sort of behavior, to be frank, is despicable.”

Tove said masks can stop the inadvertent spread of the virus from asymptomatic people and are a sign of “caring and compassion.”

The Centers for Disease control at first did not recommend wearing masks but does now. 

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He’s written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

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