COVID-19 testing accessibility partly to blame for high case rate in Latinos, Chicago health official says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago healthcare official who primarily serves the Latino community said an initial lack of COVID-19 testing likely contributed to the population having the highest rate of infection in the state.

According to the state's health department, 65% of Latinos tested for COVID-19, test positive. That's despite the fact that Latinos have lower testing rates than other population groups.

Esther Corpuz, CEO of Alivio Medical Center, joined ABC 7 Chicago remotely Wednesday to talk about those numbers.

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Corpuz said there has been less testing accessibility in the Latino community, but Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have increased it in the last few weeks.

Lightfoot was expected to give an update Wednesday on the latest efforts to better serve Latinx communities in the midst of the pandemic.