ONS Analysis Shows Black People In UK ‘Twice As Likely To Die’ From COVID-19

Black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die with the novel coronavirus pandemic as their white counterparts, according to new analysis from the Office for National Statistics.

The analysis combines data on COVID-19 deaths with information on ethnicity from the 2011 Census.

It takes account of age, where people live and some measures of deprivation, disadvantage and health. After adjusting for all these factors, black men and women were 90% more likely to die with COVID-19 than white people.

Men and women from Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities were also at higher risk than white people, though not by as much with the data showing their increased risk was between 30- 80%.

But an analysis based on the census data cannot fully explain the reasons for the higher risk because it does not take into account people’s current health, if they are in more crowded living conditions, are exposed to the virus through front-line roles – or other differences between communities that can increase risk.