Utah’s Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian communities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, according to ABC4.
Despite the community making up about 1.6% of Utah’s population, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians make up nearly 4% of the state’s coronavirus cases, ABC4 reports.
Furthermore, the community has “the highest infection rate for COVID-19 and the highest hospitalization rate for COVID-19 in Salt Lake County and the second highest infection rate and second highest hospitalization rate in the state overall,” ABC4 reports.
Jake Fitisemanu, a West Valley City councilmember in the heart of Salt Lake County, attributed several patterns and trends to why the Pacific Islander community is so hard hit, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Many members of the community live in multigenerational homes, work essential jobs and have underlying health issues that make them susceptible to infection, Fitisemanu said to The Salt Lake Tribune.
But the reasons go beyond statistics –the disproportionate impact to the Pacific Islander community is also a cultural issue, KUTV2 reports.
Cultural values and traditions within the Pacific Islander community are in direct opposition to social distancing guidelines, Luisa Auva’a Tupou said, according to KUTV2.
“Deeply rooted in our culture is to gather,” Tupou, a Bountiful, Utah resident who tested positive for coronavirus, said.
Weddings and funerals are still occurring within the community, Tupou continued. And if houses of worship hold services, Utah’s deeply religious Pacific Islander community will attend.
In another article from The Salt Lake Tribune, Fitisemanu said tradition dictates that meeting someone requires “a hug and a kiss.”
“Just waving from afar, there couldn’t be anything more rude to our people, especially with a blood relative or a close relative,” Fitisemanu added.
Despite the hurdles, members of Utah’s Pacific Islander community are working to educate and raise awareness.
“It’s not easy, but if we work together, we can do more to protect our families, to preserve our cultures, and to prevent COVID-19 from taking more from us than it already has,” Fitisemanu said.
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