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Kamrul Islam does not dare to visit his local supermarket. In recent weeks, he said three of his closest friends became ill with the coronavirus shortly after shopping there. A friend’s mother became seriously ill after contracting the virus and sadly died.
The 40-year-old former taxi driver insists that not a day goes by that he is unaware of the death or infection of someone he knows. While the coronavirus has spread widely across the UK, the pandemic has greatly affected the area where Islam lives, the Newham district in East London, which has had the worst death rate in England and Wales.
The borough’s rate, 144.3 deaths per 100,000 people, is closely followed by Brent in North London (141.5) and Newham’s neighbor Hackney (127.4), according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics. The data confirms what Islam has suspected all along: People living in the poorest parts of the country die from Covid-19 at a much higher rate than those of the wealthiest.
On the Islam highway and neighboring street, 22 people died after contracting coronavirus. “Every day I get a message from someone in my community who tells me about people who have died. They are young and old. It has been really hard, “Islam said. His wife, who wished to remain anonymous, said:” You hear sad stories of people dying and no one was with them. It affects people mentally. “
Coronavirus deaths include Betty and Ken Hill, who were together for more than 40 years and died hours apart; Dr. Yusuf Patel, who was the fifth GP to succumb to the virus in the UK; “Exceptional” High School English Teacher Dr. Louisa Rajakumari; and Abdul Karim Sheikh, the former ceremonial mayor who founded one of the area’s first mosques.
The pandemic comes almost a decade after the area hosted the 2012 Olympics, and has become a clear reminder that the promised best jobs, housing and quality of life have not materialized. Although parts of the city have regenerated and house prices have skyrocketed, the legacy of the games was not felt by everyone.
Rokhsana Fiaz, who was elected mayor of Newham almost two years ago, said: “I grew up in the neighborhood and lived here my whole life. Like many of my friends, the opportunities that were promised regarding the Olympic Games were not necessarily felt or Me and my peer group. There is a real sense of the haves and the have-nots in the community. My promise has been that we are going to reverse that because everyone in Newham needs to have a stake. “
The deprivation and diversity of the municipality makes it particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. More than half of children live in poverty, while the rate of temporary accommodation is one of the highest in England. A study commissioned by the council found that up to 36,000 people do not receive the legally required national minimum wage.
Newham has the most diverse population profile of any local authority in the country. About 78% of residents are from ethnic minority communities, which has been reported as a risk factor for coronavirus. Many live in intergenerational homes and there are long-standing health inequalities.
Tahir Mirza, a Newham resident and chairman of the local Labor party in East Ham, described the deaths in his area as “truly shocking” and called for more efforts for people in the community to obtain guidelines on social distancing in their own language. He said many did not speak English and were simply unaware of the dangers they faced. The consequences of not reaching these people will be severe, he said: “Otherwise, people will continue to die.”
Dr. Zubaida Haque, deputy director of the Runnymede Trust, said areas like Newham show that the discussion about EPP and testing should go far beyond the NHS. Key workers, from taxi drivers and care workers to grocery store owners, who are disproportionately from a BAME fund, also require protective equipment. “Key BAME workers are not just NHS personnel. We need to start asking if they are getting the right PPE equipment. Are they being protected? Are they being tested? Is that infrastructure there?
Peter Raison, a 58-year-old Transport for London train driver who lives across the road from Islam, is also not surprised by the high level of mortality. Many like him on his street have to go to work and even he is not being provided with PPE. He is upset that there are still people who fail to distance themselves socially as the death toll increases. “People just assume it won’t happen to me.”
