County report shows few covid-19 cases in predominantly black Pittsburgh neighborhoods

The Allegheny County Health Department released an interactive dashboard Wednesday that shows how many covid-19 cases have been reported in each Pittsburgh neighborhood.

Among the neighborhoods reporting the most cases in the city are Squirrel Hill South, with 18 cases; Glen Hazel, 14; Shadyside, 13; Highland Park, 11; Squirrel Hill North, 10; and Central Lawrenceville, 11.

Those reporting no cases include but are not limited to Allegheny West, Allentown, Beltzhoover, Central Oakland, Chateau, East Allegheny, Homewood South, Homewood West, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, Middle Hill, Polish Hill, Troy Hill and the Upper Hill. Many of those neighborhoods are primarily African American.

Low or nonexistent case numbers may seem encouraging at first glance, but they could also signal an absence of testing, said Pittsburgh City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, who represents neighborhoods in District 6, including Perry Hilltop, the Hill District, several North Side neighborhoods, Uptown and Downtown.

“That is the exact opposite trend of what we’re seeing happen nationally, where the African American community is getting hit the worst with this,” Lavelle said. “We’re seeing that in Detroit, New Orleans now, Milwaukee, and many other cities we’re seeing that. So to not see any cases reflected is concerning, because it may be reflective of a lack of testing.”

Data from cities across the country, including Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans and New York, show that black Americans are dying from complications related to the coronavirus at a higher rate.

The county data dashboard, which is available on the Allegheny County covid-19 website, does not include the number of tests administered in each neighborhood.

It also does not include any information related to the race of those tested, those diagnosed with covid-19 or those who have died from complications from the virus.

Lavelle said he and other African American elected officials in the region are looking to work with the county and area health systems to increase testing in those communities. He also said that he has not received calls from constituents expressing concerns about being able to get tested.

“I received more calls and concerns about unemployment, what does the stimulus bill mean for them, access to food — those sort of issues, than I do regarding the virus, itself,” Lavelle said. “I have not received many calls at all regarding the actual virus, but rather the social and financial impact that this is going to have on communities, as well as on the school system.”

County officials said that they are still working to make more information available.

“I want to be clear to everyone that this matters to us, too, and it’s really important,” county health department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said Wednesday during a weekly briefing. “Looking at covid data by race is important because we know that communities of color already have poorer health outcomes in Allegheny County, and we need to know if covid-19 is affecting those communities to a greater degree.”

Data related to race is not routinely reported by health systems and laboratories, and less than half of the reported covid-19 cases in the county contain data on race, Bogen said.

“We will not publish information that’s incomplete and could be misleading,” she said.

As of Wednesday, 8,295 tests have been administered in Allegheny County, according to new figures provided by the health department.

Of that total, there were 720 confirmed covid-19 cases and 10 deaths — five women and five men, with two people in the 60- to 69-year-old age group, and eight people over 70.

Health department officials have not yet responded to follow up requests from the Tribune-Review for information about the race of Allegheny County residents who have died from complications from the coronavirus.

The county also provided new information regarding the number of hospitalizations related to the coronavirus.

Since March 14, when the first case of covid-19 was reported in the county, 113 people have been hospitalized.

Of that total, 43 were treated in the intensive care unit, and 22 people required a ventilator.

Information about how many of those people have been discharged or who have recovered was not included in the new data.