Share of COVID-19 cases compared to the share of people living in Manitoba, by race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity from May 1st to December 31st 2020. Photo credit: Government of Manitoba.

A new report suggests the Filipino community in Manitoba is disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Kris Ontong is a Former President of the South Eastman Filipino Association and is a member of the Philippine Heritage Council of Manitoba.

Ontong says the "COVID-19 Infections in Manitoba: Race, Ethnicity, and Indigeneity" study was commissioned by the provincial government to look at the impact COVID-19 has had on the different ethnic groups in Manitoba. It found that 12% of all COVID cases were in the Filipino community even though they make up only 7% of the population. The study also points out that Indigenous, South Asian, and African communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 as well.

Kris OntongThough he was saddened by these findings, Ontong says he wasn’t surprised.

"I am not surprised because of the nature of the Filipino-Manitoban Community, specifically, about our workplaces. A lot of Filipino newcomers are working in the healthcare sector, in hospitals, in care homes and are direct support workers. The rest are distributed among manufacturing operations like factories and then you have people working farms and in barns. If you look at that kind of occupation, they have to work on-site. They can't work from home."

In addition, Ontong says many Filipino households are intergenerational with grandparents living alongside their children and grandchildren that are still going to work and school.

Ontong says he is worried about how this study and its findings will be perceived by the general public.

"From the start of this pandemic, there is a spike in discrimination and racial incidents because a lot of people have the mistaken notion that it is the Asian-Canadian immigrants who are bringing COVID-19 into the country, which is totally wrong. So it potentially can fuel more discrimination and racism against these communities which are already affected by COVID-19."

Fortunately, Ontong says so far he hasn’t noticed much if any discrimination in the Southeast, but he has heard of many accounts in the province.

Listen to the entire interview with Kris Ontong:

Now that this study has been completed and the results are available, Ontong says it is important that we use the information to better protect and support the communities and demographics that have been hit the hardest.

"Now the government knows which sector or sectors are most affected by COVID-19. In the report, it says it is mostly spreading in the workplace. You have the who and you have the where and obviously, the next step is knowing and addressing how and why this transmission is happening in those areas. All eyes are going to be on what the government of Manitoba is going to do and, of course, all those workplaces."

 The report also goes on to specify that genetics and ethnicity do not play any role in determining someone’s susceptibility to the coronavirus.