Sadiq Khan has called for ethnicity to be recorded on death certificates to reveal the true extent of COVID-19 inequality. Tara Pilkington reports.
The mayor of London plans to bring together leaders from the across the capital to discuss what can be done to tackle inequality exposed by COVID-19, with City Hall currently analysing data to improve the understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on London’s communities and expose the disproportionate effect that COVID-19 and other illnesses are having on the capital’s black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.
The increased impact on these communities has become increasingly clear, with the Institute of Fiscal Studies estimating that hospital death rates are highest among those with Black Caribbean, Pakistani and Black African heritage. However, it’s not possible to understand the full extent of this inequality as, unlike in Scotland, ethnicity is not recorded on death certificates in England.
Sadiq has successfully lobbied Ministers to routinely collect and publish demographics of those dying in hospital and welcomed the Government’s review into the disproportionate effect of the virus, but only by adding ethnicity onto death certificates will we be able to get a complete picture of the impact on those from BAME backgrounds.
Sadiq Khan has said in a statement: “People from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are being disproportionately affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 and we need urgent action to reveal the true extent of this inequality.
“We need to fully expose the effect it is having on our communities, have honest conversations about what is behind it why it is happening, and work hard to tackle these problems. That’s why I’m calling for greater transparency and bringing city leaders together to see what we can do.
“I’m working hard to do all I can to support and fight for London’s diverse communities, but the Government cannot ignore the structural problems in our society that mean minority ethnic Londoners are more likely to work in lower-paid jobs, live in overcrowded accommodation and suffer from underlying health conditions which put them at greater risk.”
- For more on the study ‘Are some ethnic groups more vulnerable to COVID-19 than others?’ visit https://www.ifs.org.uk/inequality/chapter/are-some-ethnic-groups-more-vulnerable-to-covid-19-than-others/
