Across the country, African Americans are catching and dying from the pandemic coronavirus at "disproportionately high" rates, according to The New York Times. Latinos may be "far more likely to come in contact with people who may be infected than whites," according to Reuters. But just like the Centers for Disease Control, which has been mysteriously "silent on race" during the coronavirus pandemic, Washington state has so far not released race and ethnicity data for its 8,682 coronavirus cases.

Why?

On a call with journalists this afternoon, Washington State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy said the information will be coming shortly.

“I do know that we have not been able to call all of the 8,000 people who have tested positive," Lofy said, "and that’s usually how we get the race and ethnicity information.”

Washington's medical centers do collect race and ethnicity information for people who've been hospitalized for coronavirus, and the state also has race and ethnicity information for the 394 people who have died from the illness. These statistics have to be pulled together from hospitals and other sources, and they would only represent the most serious cases—hospitalizations and deaths. But Lofy said this particular data will be available “hopefully soon in the future.”

Data for the entire group of 8,682 (and counting) Washingtonians who have been infected by coronavirus, based on Lofy's statements today, will probably take longer to arrive.