Shuttered hospitals, soaring Covid-19 deaths: Rural Black communities lose a lifeline in the century’s worst health crisis

In every corner of Latasha Taylor’s home are plants she knows nothing about. After years spent shirking her mother’s calls to join her in the yard at sunrise, Taylor now waters them out of duty. When her mom, Kat, was dying of Covid-19, she would ask about her flowers whenever she was conscious. Taylor promised she’d look after them. Her mother keeps a watchful eye from framed photos on the wall, dressed like the Queen of England in wide-brimmed hats and matching dresses. Taylor’s mom, 62, was the third member of her family to die of Covid-19; the virus also took her aunt and uncle. Friends tell Taylor she’s strong, but she doesn’t feel that way. “If you had to, you would do what I did,” she said. “Bury your whole family.