[ad_1]
LONDON (Reuters) – People from some ethnic minorities in Britain are dying in disproportionate amounts of COVID-19, possibly in part because they are more likely to work in health care and other sectors more exposed to the virus, a group said on Friday. of leading experts. .
A man in a mask walks down a quiet street in Westminster, after the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Great Britain, April 30, 2020. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls
Deaths per capita for people in Britain who had black Caribbean heritage were three times higher than for British citizens who are white, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.
Deaths per capita among other black groups doubled that of the general population, while those of Indian descent also suffered more deaths than the average, the IFS said.
Taking into account the fact that most minority groups are much younger on average than the British white population, per capita death rates in almost all minority groups seemed disproportionately high, he said in a report.
Part of the additional death rate could be explained by the greater probability that ethnic minorities live in London or other cities affected by the virus, but geography was not the only factor.
“There is unlikely to be a single explanation here and different factors may be more important for different groups,” said Ross Warwick, a research economist at IFS.
“For example, while black Africans are particularly likely to be employed in key worker roles that could put them at risk, older Bangladeshis appear vulnerable based on underlying health conditions.”
Data from the United States has shown that African Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19, highlighting long-standing health disparities and inequalities in access to health care there.
The IFS said that ethnic minority people in Britain were more likely to be financially beaten by the closure of the coronavirus.
“Bangladeshi men are four times more likely than white British men to have jobs in closed industries, and Pakistani men are almost three times more likely,” said Lucinda Platt, a professor at the London School of Economics who is part of a IFS inequality panel.
Household savings were below average among people of Black African, Black Caribbean, or Bangladeshi descent. Those of Indian heritage and the largely foreign-born “other white” group did not appear to face additional economic risks, the IFS added.
Reports of William Schomberg, David Milliken edition
