Monday, May 04, 2020


Analysis: More black Africans die of COVID-19 than white Britons
By
Danielle Haynes
(0)

The street near the British Parliament is empty March 27. 
A new analysis indicates racial minorities are more likely
 to die than white Britons from coronavirus. 
File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

May 1 (UPI) -- Black Africans are nearly four times as likely to die from the novel coronavirus in Britain than white Britons, an analysis released Friday indicates.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the ethnic black African death rate from the virus is 3.7 times as high as that of white Britons. Overall, all racial minority groups are dying at a higher rate than white Britons.

"After stripping out the role of age and geography, Bangladeshi hospital fatalities are twice those of the white British group, Pakistani deaths are 2.9 times as high and black African deaths 3.7 times as high," the IFS said.

"The Indian, black Caribbean and 'other white' ethnic groups also have excess fatalities, with the white Irish group the only one to have fewer fatalities than white British."y

The IFS said that though the elderly have higher death rates with COVID-19, most minority communities in Britain are younger than the overall population, "which should make them less vulnerable." Many ethnic minorities live in larger population centers, such as London and Birmingham, where there are higher rates of the disease.

The analysis said that occupational exposure may explain the disproportionate death rates for some minority groups. According to the IFS, more than two in 10 black African women of working age are employed in the health and social care industries. And Indian men are 150 percent more likely to work in those industries than white counterparts.

Underlying health conditions also are likely a factor, with Bangladeshis over the age of 60 more than 60 percent more likely to have long-term health conditions compared to their white counterparts

Minority groups, meanwhile, are more economically vulnerable, meaning they're more likely to be exposed to the virus in the labor market.

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