City's scary coronavirus statistic nine weeks after first case

New York City has been one of the worst hit cities in the world by the novel coronavirus and a confronting statistic reveals the toll it has taken on locals.

The most recent data by the city’s health department shows 14,505 people have died in the the iconic city, with some 177,480 confirmed cases as of May 9, local time.

Professor Patrick Egan, a political scientist from New York University, shared data from the city’s health department which shows that one in every 154 people over the age of 18 have been hospitalised due to the virus, since it was first detected in New York nine weeks ago.

When breaking down the data even further by age demographic, it reveals people aged over 75 are being hospitalised at a rate of one in 75 cases, opposed to adults aged 18 to 44, who have a hospitalisation rate of one in 548.

The overall death rate in New York city for adults aged over 18 is one in 361, according to the figures.

Adults aged over 75 being are most at risk of dying, with a rate of one in 60.

New York has struggled to keep up with the surge in cases, compounded by the city being a tourist hotspot in the early stages of the outbreak and New York’s infrastructure such as the subway not allowing for social distancing.

At the end of April, a funeral home was found to be putting the bodies of the dead in moving trucks, as the home struggled under the weight of the virus.

‘There is no doubt it is a problem’

With black, Latino and lower-income families being infected at higher rates, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he is launching a coronavirus testing initiative aimed at addressing the disparity.

"There is no doubt it is a problem," Mr Cuomo said on Saturday. "We must address the racial disparities of this pandemic, and meet the need where it is."

"Hospitals report nightly how many cases they have and where they come from. When you look into that information, especially in Brooklyn and the Bronx, it's clear the communities are from heavier low-income and minority populations."

When the NYC data is broken down by race and ethnicity demographics, it shows people of colour have a higher fatality rate to that of white people living in New York City.

Of the confirmed coronavirus deaths in New York City, Black and African Americans account for 30 per cent, while Latino and Hispanic confirmed deaths account for 30.4 per cent.

The most recent census shows in New York City, Black and African Americans account for 24.3 per cent of the population and Hispanic and Latino’s account for 29.1 per cent.

Of New York City’s population, 42.7 per cent are white. Of the confirmed coronavirus-related deaths, 27.9 per cent are white.

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Poor hit hardest by global pandemic

The indication that the novel coronavirus would disproportionately hurt minority and poor communities has lead medical professionals, activists and political figures to push government around the world to outline strategies to help those affected.

Analysing the UK’s NHS health data from 17.4 million British adults between February 1 and April 25, researchers from Oxford University found those of Black and Asian background are at higher risk of death due to COVID-19.

“Contrary to prior speculation, this is only partially attributable to pre-existing clinical risk factors or deprivation,” the study said.

Likewise in Australia the Indigenous community has long been considered more at risk.

The Australian Government outlined four reasons as to why Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islander people are at greater risk of COVID-19, saying there are higher rates of other health issues in communities, inaccessibility to healthcare, the communities being more transient and people relying out outreach services in remote places.

Earlier this month, hundreds of organisations demanded an urgent injection of government funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

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