Black and Asian people in England more likely to die from COVID-19, says report
Black and Asian people in England are up to 50% more likely to die after becoming infected with COVID-19, an official study said, putting pressure on the government to outline plans to protect the most communities at-risk.
The report by Public Health England (PHE) addressed previous studies which indicated ethnic minority groups were more at risk from the virus, but it was not accompanied by specific government advice for those people.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in an announcement, "People are understandably angry about injustices. This pandemic has exposed huge disparities. We are determined to take action."
Doctors, politicians and footballers have been among those vocal in expressing concern about the unexplained higher mortalities in ethnic minorities.
The report also stated that people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had approximately twice the risk of death of people who were white British.
Those of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani or other Asian ethnicity, as well as those of Caribbean or other Black ethnicity, had between a 10 to 50% higher risk of death than those in the white British group, PHE said.
The opposition Labour party called for quick action. Marsha De Cordova, Labour MP for Battersea said on Twitter:
"The government must not wait any longer to mitigate the risks faced by these communities and must act immediately to protect BAME people so that no more lives are lost."
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