Public health and community leaders want Massachusetts to put the brakes on reopening until there are better safeguards for low-income workers and people of color.
Before more businesses open, a statewide task force on equity says the coronavirus infection rate should be significantly down for all high-risk groups, not just on average across the state.
That's among a list of four conditions the task force released this week, signed by more than 100 groups.
They also want much more testing, including for people without symptoms, and better data collection so they know exactly who is dying, by race and ethnicity.
Cities and counties with the highest rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths tend to be those with greater concentrations of low-income workers, African-Americans and Hispanics. But Massachusetts data on race and ethnicity is missing for about 40% of the cases and deaths, and 30% for hospitalizations.
The task force also wants the state’s re-opening advisory board to solicit more input from the populations most likely to contract or die from the virus.
"People representing workers, representing communities of color and other disproportionately affected communities need to be at the table for decisions that are being made that impact their lives," said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Public Health Association, which convened the task force.
"It's understandable that people don't have that context," said Atyia Martin of the Black Boston COVID-19 coalition, "because if it's not your struggle, it's invisible to you, unless someone helps you to see it."
Regina LaRocque, an infectious disease doctor from Massachusetts General Hospital, said the state's economic needs should not obscure the realities of science and medicine.
"We are operating on the virus's timeline," LaRocque said. "This virus is going to be with us for a long time. We don't have a vaccine. We don't have solid treatments."
She said the measures taken so far by government and individuals to flatten the curve of the virus were meant to buy time to put safeguards in place.
"And so everything that we're doing now to protect all members of our community in the long run is going to save our economy. It's going to save us money. It's going to make us healthier," she said. "And it's in the best interests of everybody to do this as soon as possible."
