Ethnic Minorities In Britain Are More Susceptible To Death From COVID-19

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A report explained that the number of people from several ethnic minorities in Britain who are dying due to COVID-19 is higher. This is because the majority of them work in health services and in other sectors that are most exposed to the virus.

The per capita mortality of people of black Caribbean descent in Britain is three times that of white British citizens, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.

Reported by Reuters on Friday May 1, the per capita deaths of other black groups are twice that of the UK's overall population. Meanwhile people of Indian descent have also suffered more deaths than the average British person.

Taking into account the fact that most minority groups are much younger than the average white British population, the per capita mortality rate in almost all minority groups appears to be very high.

Part of the death toll is due to ethnic minorities living in London or other cities that have been hit hardest by COVID-19. However, geographic location is not the only factor.

"There cannot be a single explanation here and different factors may be more important for different groups," said Ross Warwick, an economist at IFS.

"For example, black Africans are more likely to be employed in the public sector which might put them at risk, whereas older Bangladeshis appear vulnerable on the basis of their underlying health conditions," he added.

The data is also in line with what happened in the United States (US), which shows that African-Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19. This is due to longstanding disparities in the world of health and inequality in access to medical care in Uncle Sam's country.

The IFS also said people from ethnic minorities in Britain were more likely to be hit financially by the lockdown for the fight against COVID-19.

"Bangladeshi men are four times more likely than white British men to face industrial shutdowns (due to COVID-19). Pakistani men are almost three times as likely to (face economic hardship)," said Lucinda Platt, a London School of Economics professor.

Household savings held by black African, Caribbean, or Bangladeshiese in the UK are also definitely lower. Those from the 'other white' group born outside the UK do not appear to be at any economic risk.

In the UK, the number of COVID-19 cases touched 171,253 with 26,771 of them dying. The UK government claims it has reached its daily test target of 100,000 per day.

"I don't have the numbers yet, maybe they will be published today. But it looks like we are on target or close to the target so we will greatly increase the number of tests in the country," said UK Housing Minister Robert Jenrick.

"This is an important stepping stone. We have now built the start of the network we need to test, track and find out the next steps to fight the virus, "concluded Jenrick.