Community groups in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods of Montreal are demanding that data on race, ethnicity and economic status be among the information collected from people during testing for COVID-19.
The groups say having that information would have been crucial in helping to stem the spread of the virus in places like the Montreal North borough, the latest hotbed of COVID-19 infections with just over 1,500 cases as of May 6, according to Montreal Public Health.
It’s just one of the boroughs, including Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (1,427 infections) and Ahuntsic–Cartierville (1,351 cases), where high density and low income are coupled with large case numbers.