People from Black, Asian communities at larger risk of contracting Coronavirus, finds UK study

Black and Asian people are significantly more likely to be infected with novel coronavirus than white people, a major UK-based study has revealed. Black people are twice as likely to contract Covid-19 as white people, and people from Asian backgrounds are one and a half times as likely, researchers at the universities of Leicester and Nottingham found after analyzing 50 studies in the UK and the US that involved nearly 19 million coronavirus patients.

The disproportionate impact of coronavirus on different social groups are believed to be attributed to various factors, such as greater levels of deprivation, living in larger, multi-generational households, and having more public-facing jobs where working from home is not an option, Xinhua news agency quoted the study issued on Thursday as saying.

Manish Pareek, an associate clinical professor in infectious diseases at the University of Leicester, said the findings showed an urgent need for more targeted public support for these groups. "It's about trying to make sure interventions are available early on, so people can seek advice and care at early time points," Pareek was quoted as saying. The study, published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, is the first comprehensive review of published research and preliminary papers that focus on the impact of coronavirus on different ethnic groups.

The report came as the number of people who have died with coronavirus in the UK has surpassed the 50,000 mark, making the country the fifth in the world to hit the tragic milestone, following the US, Brazil, India and Mexico. The UK with a total of 50,457 deaths is the first European nation to record more than 50,000 coronavirus fatalities. England last week entered into a month-long national lockdown, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak began in the country.