Ethnic breakdown of London coronavirus deaths revealed

New NHS data has revealed ethnic breakdowns among the patients in London hospitals who have died with coronavirus.

Black people account for 13% of the city’s population but 16% of deaths.

London has seen nearly 5,000 deaths linked to the virus.

NHS data, shows that 3,929 deaths by ethnicity and showed a disproportionate number of black people had died from Covid-19 in London hospitals.

The majority of the patients that died – 55% – were from a white background, but white people make up a larger proportion of the capital’s population. Similarly, proportionately fewer Asian people died with coronavirus.

A spokeswoman for Public Health England said there was “evidence to suggest” coronavirus was having a disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups.

“There is limited recording of ethnicity across almost all data sets so we must be very careful in making any assumptions,” she said.

“This is a really important issue and detailed and careful work is being done before we draw any conclusions.”

Source: BBC