Virus Erupts in U.S. Cities Where the Poor Have Few Defenses
- Rate of spread is three times national average in Michigan
- Impoverished Detroit residents at epicenter of outbreak
A State of Michigan Unemployment Agency office currently closed because of coronavirus, in Detroit, Michigan on March 26.
Photographer: Jeff Kowalowsky/AFP via Getty Images
The coronavirus pandemic is burrowing into America’s battered industrial heartland and the South, bursting out in places like Detroit and New Orleans that have legions of low-income residents with underlying medical conditions and few resources.
Michigan is fast becoming the next U.S. hotspot for the virus, registering new cases at more than triple the national rate; it was declared a federal disaster area late Friday night. The state had 3,657 Covid-19 cases as of March 27 -- versus zero just over two weeks ago – ranking fifth in the nation. Of that, impoverished Detroit and surrounding Wayne County made up half. At least 92 people have died.