Filipino advocacy group asks province to look at race in COVID-19 cases to find out who's most at risk

A Vancouver-based advocacy group for the Filipino community says its members may beat higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and are calling on the province to collect data toverify it.

RJ Aquino,director of the Tulayan Filipino Diaspora Society, saysFilipinos are over-represented amongfront-line and essential workers in hospitals and health care facilities in B.C.

He wantsthe province to break down B.C. COVID-19 cases by race and ethnicity, specifically the number of hospitalizations and recoveries, to determine if certain groups aredisproportionately impacted by the virus.

"One way for our communities to feel safe and supported is to see if there is public health policies being created out of the data collected," Aquino said Thursday on The Early Edition.

It's needed, he said, because there were alreadytwo fatalities in theFilipino community when the death rate for B.C. stood at 50 in early April.

One of those deaths was47-year-oldWarlito Valdez who worked in a group home for disabled people.

Valdez'swife,FlozierTabangin,described him as"hero."

'Now that he's gone, how can we survive?: 'B.C.'s Flozier Tabangin mourns her husband, a care home worker

4 years ago

Duration 0:48

Flozier Tabangin says her husband, Warlito Valdez, was a hero for his dedication to his job and family. She's worried about their future now that he has died of COVID-19.

"My husband has a very good heart," she told reporters from her front step shortly after his death."He is such a gentleman and a very nice person, loving husband."

Tabangin said her husband loved going to work, as a care-worker at theRichmond Society for Community Living.

U.S. data links race and risk

Last week, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the province is "actively discussing" how to go about collecting data from patients in regards to race.

In the United States, data collected suggests COVID-19 is proving deadlier for black people and Latinos.

In the 12 states reporting race and ethnicity data around COVID-19, black residents were found to be 2.5 times more likely to die of the virus than the general population, according to the public policy research group APM Research Lab.

The City of Toronto'spublic health unit says it is now starting to collect race-based data as well.

"We are seeing a disproportionate amount of people of colour being affected by this pandemic," said Aquino.

Aquino said the province was receptive to another concern the society had early in the pandemic alack of public health information in Tagalog.

"There was not translated information for the Filipino community," said Aquino, adding this has now been addressed.

To hear the complete interview withRJ Aquino on The Early Edition, tap the audio link below: