OMAHA - Fighting the coronavirus requires testing and medical treatment, but it also requires something else: information. Data, that is, about how the disease is affecting individual population subgroups. Armed with that information, health officials can develop the most effective strategies to combat the virus and reduce the overall risk to the public.

Nebraska has been tardy in collecting such data, but last week the state announced its initial findings. The numbers make clear the need for greater public health outreach and testing in the state’s Hispanic communities. Hispanics account for 11.2% of Nebraska’s population but almost 60% of the state’s coronavirus cases and 26.5% of deaths attributed to the virus.

This largely stems from the fact that Hispanics make up a large percentage of the workforce in packing plants. Nebraska has a particular need to increase its public health outreach to, and virus testing for, these communities. Such information is vital in helping people know whether to self-quarantine — and so reduce the community spread — and whether they should be seeking medical help.

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