Racism has led to a disproportionate number of BAME people catching coronavirus and dying, says leaked Public Health England report
- Report made recommendations how to minimise risk to BAME groups in future
- Among the recommendations were health risk tests for ethnic minority workers
- PHE’s first report was heavily criticised for failing to include recommendations
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Racism and social inequality led to a disproportionate number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people catching coronavirus and dying from it, according to a study by Public Health England (PHE).
The leaked report concluded that ‘historic racism and poorer experiences of healthcare or at work’ meant those individuals were less likely to raise concerns about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and less likely to seek healthcare.
The report, PHE’s second on the subject, also made recommendations on how to minimise the risk of the virus to BAME groups in the future.
At least 300 healthcare staff have died from coronavirus so far, and people from black and ethnic minority groups have been disproportionately affected. Pictured are some of the BAME healthcare staff who fell victim to the disease
PHE’s first report was heavily criticised for failing to include recommendations and omitting the voices of black, Asian and minority groups – some of whom had claimed ‘structural racism’ lay behind the heavy impact of the virus on non-white populations.
Its second report, a copy of which was obtained by the BBC, concluded: ‘The unequal impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities may be explained by a number of factors ranging from social and economic inequalities, racism, discrimination and stigma, occupational risk, inequalities in the prevalence of conditions that increase the severity of disease including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and asthma.’
Data in a Public Health England report showed that the mortality rate – the number of people dying with the coronavirus out of each 100,000 people – was considerably higher for black men than other group. The risk for black women, people of Asian ethnicity, and mixed race people was also higher than for white people of either sex. The report warned the rate for the ‘Other’ category was ‘likely to be an overestimate’
Among the recommendations were mandatory health risk assessment for ethnic minority workers, more work to tackle discrimination in the NHS, and public health messaging that was better targeted at particular groups.
PHE’s first review, which was published earlier this month, found that black, Asian and minority groups had higher death rates from Covid-19 than white Britons.