There are testing deserts in minority communities, rural areas

Testing is the best way to combat COVID-19. But some of those most at risk for contracting the virus are also those least able to get tested.

An analysis of publicly available testing data shows that ZIP codes with high numbers of Black and Latino people have fewer testing sites, according to Quartz.

ZIP codes with populations of at least 75% white people on average have one testing site for every 14,500 people. On the flip side, ZIP codes with at least 75% people of color on average have one testing site for every 23,300 people.

Rural areas are also limited in their testing capacity. Nearly two-thirds of rural counties have no testing sites at all, according to an analysis by the Surgo Foundation, a privately funded think tank.

Combine rural communities and minority communities and the numbers are even worse. More than a third of Black Americans live in “testing deserts” where COVID-19 testing is difficult or impossible to come by.

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