Covid-19 goes by ethnic, class inequalities: UK report

London, June 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) people in the UK are almost twice at risk of dying from coronavirus than the White British, according to Public Health England review.

The highest age standardised diagnosis rate of Covid-19 per 100,000 population was in the Black ethnic groups (486 in females, 649 in males), and the lowest in the White ethnic groups (220 in females, 224 in males).

While people of the Bangladeshi ethnicity are twice as likely to die from coronavirus against the people of White British ethnicity. Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and other Asian, Caribbean people of Black ethnicity are 10-50 per cent more likely to die compared with White people.

It said Covid-19 had replicated existing health inequalities and, in some cases, increased them. The largest disparity found is by age. Among people diagnosed with Covid-19, those 80 years or above are 70 times more likely to die than those under 40 years.

People living in the deprived areas have higher diagnosis and death rates than those in the less deprived areas. High diagnosis rates might be due to geographic proximity to infections or a high proportion of workers in occupations that were more likely to be exposed, the review said.

Among deaths from Covid-19, mentioned on the death certificate, a higher percentage mentioned diabetes, hypertensive, chronic kidney, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and dementia than the all cause death certificates.

There have been deaths in care homes and hospitals as well. The percentage had increased over the time, and cases were being identified in nurses, midwives and nursing associates, the review said.

Accordng to reports, men working as security guards, taxi drivers and bus and coach drivers, chefs, sales and retail assistants, lower skilled workers in construction and processing plants, and men and women working in social care had significantly high death rate due to Covid-19.

Source: IANS