Your race, ethnicity, nationality or income can impact the likelihood of contracting Coronavirus. The tracking data on COVID-19 fatalities exposes the disproportionate effect on people along those same distinctions.
America
The virus mortality rate in America mirrors the racial disparities of American society. Early reporting of mortality rates in Michigan shows that Africran Americans have made up 40% of coronavirus related deaths, despite constituting just 14% of the state’s population.
Black Chicagoans account for half of all coronavirus cases in the city and more than 70% of deaths, despite making up 30% of the population. Chicago public health commissioner Dr Allison Arwady told reporters that black city residents already lived on average about 8.8 years less than their white counterparts.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the coronavirus was “devastating black Chicago”.
The cities of New Orleans, Las Vegas and states of Maryland and South Carolina have also started recording data based on race and are similarly seeing that an over-representation of their victims are black.
Mark D. Levine, Chair of New York City Council Health Committee said:
“This pandemic is reflecting–and exacerbating–inequality.”
An individual’s socioeconomic status also impacts their ability to safeguard against the virus. Although all income groups are moving less than they did before the crisis, wealthier people are staying home the most, especially during the workweek. Not only that, but in nearly every state, they were able to do so days before the poor, giving them a head start on social distancing as the virus spread, according to location data company Cubiq.
To illustrate: By March 16, when President Trump asked people to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus, those in the wealthiest and poorest areas were both moving less than usual.
But by that date, those in the highest-income locations had already cut their movement by nearly half. Poorer areas did not see a similar drop until three days later.
A similar study, carried out by UK academics entitled Perceptions and behavioural responses of the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey of UK Adults found that:
“Those with the lowest household income were six times less likely to be able to work from home…and three times less likely to be able to self-isolate”
They also found that “[the] Ability to self-isolate was also lower in black and minority ethnic groups”, despite the willingness to self-isolate remaining high across all respondents.
UK
The emergence of such findings at home and abroad has led to demands for Public Health England to publish the data it holds on the deaths of Black and Minority Ethnics (BAME) patients from Covid-19. With politicians and pressure groups arguing that failure to do so would be putting lives at risks.
The UK government on Thursday (16 April 2020) agreed to launch an inquiry into why BAME individuals appear to be more affected by the vitus, With patients from ethnic minority backgrounds over-represented in critical care units and among NHS staff who have died.
The review will be conducted by NHS England and Public Health England however no information about what – if any – data would be shared, or timeframe, was provided. Activists have argued that it is essential that figures are released quickly and freely so that analysis can begin as soon as possible.
Lord Woolley, director of Operation Black Vote, said:
“Anecdotally, we know that Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on BAME communities, particularly in England. We suspect that BAME individuals, including frontline and essential workers, are disproportionately exposed to this virus. If Public Health England has ethnic data on who’s dying in hospital, they must release it. Only with transparency of data and quick action from all relevant agencies will we save lives.”
Private analysis from the Guardian found that of 53 NHS staff known to have died in the pandemic so far, 68% were BAME. While the proportion of people from a minority ethnic background is higher in the NHS – 20%, rising to 44% for medical staff – the respective mortality rate, like the proportion of critical care admissions, remains unbalanced.
Ethnicity is not collected on death certificates in England and Wales, unlike in Scotland where it was added in 2012. This means that based on current mortality data it will not be possible to assess who has died from the virus outside hospitals, potentially further clouding our ability to judge the true correlation between mortality rates and inequalities.
From the ashes of this pandemic society will need to take a long hard look at the structural inequalities that have been laid dormant for far too long and ensure that the right to life is not infringed upon by arbitrary means, such as ethnicity and wealth.