E-Paper
Covid-19: Indians, non-whites in UK more at risk of death
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), whose records are based on details mentioned in death certificates, analysed deaths by age group, sex and ethnic group, using linked census and mortality records up to April 17.
A new official analysis released on Thursday says that the risk of death from coronavirus among Indian and other non-white groups in the UK is “significantly higher” than those of white ethnicity, complementing similar reports from other sources.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), whose records are based on details mentioned in death certificates, analysed deaths by age group, sex and ethnic group, using linked census and mortality records up to April 17.
It said that Indian and other non-white males are 4.2 times more likely to die from a Covid-19-related death and non-white females are 4.3 times more likely than white ethnicity males and females. The UK’s Indian-origin population is estimated to number 1.5 million.
The ONS said: “People of Bangladeshi and Pakistani, Indian, and Mixed ethnicities also had statistically significant raised risk of death involving Covid-19 compared with those of White ethnicity”.
“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”.
According to NHS England, 614 people categorised as ‘British Indian’ have died, according to its records until May 5, the highest among the non-white people, categorised in official discourse as BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic).
Funeral services dealing with deaths in the community have reported busy activity, particularly in Birmingham and areas of London such as Brent, Barnet and Ealing Southall that have a large population of Indian-origin.
The ONS analysis used data from official and NGO reports that show the highest educational attainment was among those of Chinese and Indian ethnicity, and that unemployment was found to be highest among the Black and Bangladeshi and Pakistani populations and lowest among the White and Indian ethnic groups.
According to Kamlesh Khunti, medical expert at the University of Leicester, the reasons Indian and other non-white people figure more in the statistics, despite accounting for only 14 per cent of the UK population, include many coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, working in public-facing occupations, holding different cultural beliefs and behaviours or being at high risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
The Boris Johnson government has instituted an inquiry into reports of non-whites being disproportionately affected by the virus. The dead include several doctors, nurses and pharmacists of Indian origin, reflecting their work on the frontline of treatment.
Medical staff of Indian heritage who have passed away include Jitendra Kumar Rathod, Manjeet Singh Riyat, Krishan Arora, Rajesh Kalraiya, Pooja Sharma, Jayesh Patel, Vivek Sharma, Kamlesh Kumar Masson, Amarante Dias, Sophie Fagan, Hamza Pacheeri and Amrik Bamotra.
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