This archive report was first published on 11 May 2020.
Published on May 11, 2020, a report by the British Office of National Statistics has shed light on the alarming disparities in COVID-19 mortality rates among ethnic groups in the UK.
The report found that black people are more than four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people, with Bangladeshi and Pakistani males being 1.8 times more likely to die from the disease than white males, and females from those ethnic groups being 1.6 times more likely to die from the virus than their white counterparts.
After adjusting for factors such as age, health status, disability, and socio-demographic factors, the report concluded that the risk for Chinese and mixed groups is similar to that of white people.
According to the report, "These results show that the difference between ethnic groups in COVID-19 mortality is partly a result of socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the difference has not yet been explained."
The report's findings have sparked outrage among British politicians and academicians from ethnic minority backgrounds, who have called for a public inquiry into the report's findings.
Outrage and Calls for Inquiry ¶
As the UK has been hard hit by the virus, recording over 30,000 deaths by the time of publishing, the report's findings have raised questions about the need for a public inquiry to provide clarity on the issue.
