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In New Orleans, African American communities were not only hit hard by Katrina's floods, but also by violent policing during the catastrophe and a disaster "recovery" effort that was fundamentally Anti-Black (closing of publich housing and the privatization of schools and health care). Recovery efforts were not organized along ideals of racial justice that would have addressed gaps in educational and health care resources. Instead, they were imagined along neoliberal principles that systematically excluded the city's Black population. I am interested in looking into how the Anti-Blackness of Katrina "recovery" set the stage for the virulent way COVID 19 is affecting New Orleans' African American communities.

In the US Virgin Islands, Hurricanes Maria and Irma decimated what were already decrepit public school and public health systems. Public schools and hospitals had not been property repaired and remained under-supported as of early March 2020. In places like the Island of St. Croix, residents reported the hospital having only one physicial on staff, and indicated fear of misdiagnosis and prolonged waiting times kept them from seeking health care there. The clientelle of the public health system is predominantly Afro and Hispanic Caribbean. Meanwhile, US "mainlanders" (who are predominantly white) are reported to seek their healthcare off island, something only those with ample financial resources can do. Infection rates and fatality rates for the USVI seem rather low from official reports, but it is important to find out if this is because testing itself is not readily avialable in the territory.

Media coverage from hard-hit cities suggests there is a disproportionate number of arrests and citations related to enforcement of social distancing among racial minorities.

Also, police response seems to have followed very different patterns in the case of "re-open" protests and anti-police brutality protests.

This article emphasizes that in existing research which concerns violence against health care workers in politically and culturally complex environments. This lack of research is primarily noted to be caused by the discrepancies between public opinion and government opinion. The suggestion put forth by the article is that aid organizations make their data easily accessible and are provided with greater funding when researching or assisting with violence against health workers.

This article was written by Miriam Ticktin a Professor of Anthropology and Co-Director of the Zolberg Institute. She received her PhD in Anthropology at Stanford University and an MA in English Literature from Oxford. Her research focusses on the intersections of the anthropology of medicine and science, and law.

The app is used from people with widely ranging medical backgrounds from EMT to Doctor and so many in between and outside of that scope.