April 13, 2020 By Allie Griffin
New York City is ramping up its public education campaign on COVID-19 for communities that have been hit particularly hard hit by the disease — and putting $10 million behind it.
Last week, the Department of Health released data that showed Hispanic and Black New Yorkers have died from coronavirus at twice the rate of their white counterparts in New York City.
Corona, Queens — which is largely Hispanic and where 20 percent of people live below the poverty line — has seen more than 2,000 people test positive for the virus, more than any other neighborhood.
“The disparities that we have now uncovered are deeply, deeply troubling,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a City Hall briefing this morning.
The City is launching a new $10 million campaign “laser-focused” on 88 communities where disparities of the coronavirus’ impact exist, de Blasio announced today.
“We’ve targeted 88 zip codes in New York City where we see the most disproportionate negative impact of the coronavirus,” de Blasio said.
The city will place ads on TV, radio and digital platforms in 15 languages targeting the neighborhoods highly impacted by the deadly virus. Residents in the affected zip codes will also receive snail mail, robocalls and live calls and texts providing information on COVID-19.
The Mayor’s Office has already spent $8 million on media ads targeting communities. It has published TV, radio, digital and print ads in 15 different languages — including $1.5 million in ads in community and ethnic media publications.
The City also organized an advisory board of 80 community based organizations to help with the public information campaign. Officials have also been doing outreach through apps like WhatsApp to reach the communities.
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