Black, Muslim and Jewish people up to three times more likely to die from coronavirus in UK

BLACK, Muslim and Jewish people are up to three times more likely to die from coronavirus in the UK according to new figures.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics confirms that the death rate for Covid-19 among a number of BAME groups is higher than the rate for white people.

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The rate was highest among black men (255.7 deaths per 100,000 people) and lowest among white men (87.0 deaths per 100,000).

For women, the pattern was similar, with the highest death rates among those of black ethnic background (119.8 deaths per 100,000) and lowest among those of white ethnic background (52.0 per 100,000).

After further adjusting for other factors such as deprivation and health, the ONS found that people of black ethnic background still had a Covid-19 death rate which was two times more for men and 1.4 times more for women compared with those of white ethnic background.

The data covers deaths that occurred in England and Wales between March 2 and May 15.

Men of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian ethnic background also had a significantly higher risk of death involving Covid-19 than white men, the ONS found.

For women of Bangladeshi or Pakistani, Indian, Chinese and mixed ethnicity, the Covid-19 death risk was the same as white women.

The risk of dying from Covid-19 is higher among Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs than other religions.

The death rate for Muslim men in England and Wales during the first few months of the coronavirus outbreak was 198.9 deaths per 100,000 people, and for women 98.2 deaths per 100,000.

Those identifying with “no religion” had the lowest rate of death from Covid-19, with 80.7 deaths per 100,000 males and 47.9 deaths per 100,000 females.

Jewish people also showed an increased risk of a death from Covid-19 compared with Christians.

Jewish men had a death rate of 187.9 per 100,000, about twice the risk of Christian men (92.6 deaths per 100,000).

For Jewish women the rate was 94.3 deaths per 100,000, compared with 54.6 deaths per 100,000 for Christian women.

The rate for Hindu men was found to be 154.8 deaths per 100,000 people, while for Sikh men it was 128.6.

For Hindu women the rate was 93.3, and for Sikh women it was 69.3.

ONS head of life events Nick Stripe said: “For the most part the elevated risk of certain religious groups is explained by geographical, socio-economic and demographic factors and increased risks associated with ethnicity.

“However, after adjusting for the above, Jewish males are at twice the risk of Christian males, and Jewish women are also at higher risk. Additional data and analyses are required to understand this excess risk.”

Religion is not recorded on somebody’s death certificate, so the ONS used information from the 2011 Census to determine religions and other demographic factors.

The analysis was limited to those aged nine and over, because kids under nine would not have been born at the time of the last Census.

Mr Stripe said: “Analysis continues to show that people from a black ethnic background are at a greater risk of death involving Covid-19 than all other ethnic groups.

“Adjusting for socio-economic factors and geographical location partly explains the increased risk, but there remains twice the risk for black males and around one-and-a-half times for black females. Significant differences also remain for Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian men.

“The ONS will continue to research this unexplained increased risk of death, examining the impact of other health conditions.”

Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon

Travellers ride the tube in London during coronavirus lockdown[/caption]