Asli Farah caught COVID-19 from a co-worker she carpooled with to her job at an Edmonton warehouse.
When health authorities sent Farah to get tested, she had to take two city buses — her only means of transport.
Then came self-isolation — holed up in her room for two weeks and unable to get treatment for an infected tooth.
“I remember feeling like I was in jail in my own house,” Farah recalled in an interview with CBC News.
As a recent immigrant to Canada, she faced the additional challenge of a language barrier, making it even harder to access information or medical help.
“I was really sad,” Farah said. “I was in a lot of pain. I feel that people that go through self isolation should receive a lot of support.”
Farah’s experience reflects the findings of a groundbreaking new study that reveals COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting the health and finances of Black Canadians.
Black Canadians are more likely than other Canadians to seek treatment, experience layoffs due to the virus, and more likely to report feeling more at risk on their commute to work, the research reveals.
The study, a partnership between the Edmonton-based African-Canadian Civic Engagement Council and Innovative Research Group, looks at health and economic impacts of COVID-19 from the perspectives of Black Canadians and those in the broader Canadian population.
The study — its authors say it appears to be the first of its kind — comes after warnings from advocates, researchers and social agencies across Canada that a lack of race-based data is a barrier to ensuring those most impacted by the pandemic get the help they need.
Dunia Nur co-authored the study that found Black Canadians have been hit hard financially and health-wise by the pandemic. (Trevor Wilson/CBC)
Dunia Nur, president of the African-Canadian Civic Engagement Council, said the research tells a largely untold story about the lived experience of Black Canadians around COVID-19.
“Data will give communities the opportunity to apply for funding and say, ‘This is what it says in Alberta, this is what it says in Ontario, therefore we definitely need support here,'” Nur said.
“Anecdotally, we hear the story, but now the story is alive and is living through empirical research.”
The study’s findings show Black Canadians are more likely than other Canadians to be infected or hospitalized, and nearly three times more likely to know someone who has died from the virus.
The study shows that Black communities are experiencing layoffs, reduced hours and a reduction in household incomes at higher rates, with men over 45 being hardest hit.
Fifty-six per cent of Black respondents said their job, or the job of someone they knew, had been affected, compared to the national average of 46 per cent.
The study also reveals why Black Canadians may be more heavily impacted by the pandemic.
Findings revealed that while Black Canadians are confident about the precautions they are taking, they feel their daily routines put them at greater risk of catching COVID-19.
Black Canadians reported at higher rates that their jobs require them to work face-to-face with people and that, no matter how well they protect themselves, they feel their daily routine puts them at high risk of infection.
Among commuters, Black Canadians are twice as likely than the national average to feel their commute to work is unsafe, with Black commuters more likely to experience symptoms or seek medical treatment.
“It seems as though they’re just naturally in a higher risk situation given their socioeconomic and demographic circumstances,” said Jason Lockhart, Innovative’s vice president and a principal researcher on the project.
The survey was conducted online among a representative sample of 2,322 Canadians, including a representative sample of 400 Black Canadians, from June 17 through June 30.
Emphasizing that their research is based on a small sample size, Nur and Lockhart said it scratches the surface and they hope it encourages governments to collect more data in areas such as how the virus impacts children in more marginalized communities.
“The more we know about the impacts of COVID-19 in various communities, and perhaps the reasons why there’s a disproportionate impact on these communities, will help governments and help organizations like ACCEC develop policies and programs that are going to help alleviate the disproportionate impact,” Lockhart said.
If we don’t have this data, how can we make decisions?– Jason Lockhart, Innovative Research Group
“If we don’t have this data, how can we make decisions? How can we make public policy that’s going to serve communities?”
Nur said the data also shows why governments should invest more in Black-led community groups, largely responsible for creating awareness and helping newer immigrants navigate the pandemic’s many challenges.
“The community is doing a good job in terms of awareness,” Nur said, pointing to numbers that show high levels of taking precautions and seeking treatment.
“However, there needs to be a lot more support for all Black communities nationally across Canada who are actually doing the frontline work.”
A comparable margin of error for a probabilistic sample of this size would be about +/-3 percentage points for the general population, and about +/-5 for the sample of Black Canadians.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
