Official: Covid-19 devastating impact on BAME. Now act!

PRESS RELEASE IMMEDIATE 02/06/2020

CONTACT: simon@obv.org.uk/07920 057 237/07584 177 529

Information to sign-up and support the demand for this Covid-19 Race Equality Strategy.

Official: Covid-19 devastating impact on BAME. Now act!

The official report by the Government is finally out.

The news is what we broadly expected and knew: Black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities are more likely to be infected with this virus because we’re more likely to live in urban areas, in overcrowded households, in deprived areas, and have jobs that expose them to higher risk.

Secondly and equally shocking is the stark but simple fact that once infected by the disease BAME individuals will have poorer outcomes than white people, this is mainly due to inequality in health.

In the end the most heart breaking facts are for example, “Black males were 3.9 times more likely to die than the White group, compared with 2.5 times in Asian males.

Among females, death rates were 3.3 times higher in the Black ethnic group, and 2.3 times higher in the Asian ethnic group than the White group.

In the Commons, Matt Hancock, Health Secretary, made a statement about coronavirus about the Public Health England report into the impact of coronavirus on different groups:

Even allowing for age, deprivation, region and sex, BAME people are at much greater risk.”

OBV welcome the report, but now demand action not just to preserve lives because we are not out of this immediate crises yet, but to fundamentally rebuild those areas of society that have clearly exacerbated the tragic loss of life BAME communities have faced.

Lord Simon Woolley, CEO of OBV, and Chair of the No.10 Downing St. Advisory Board for the Race Disparity Unit said:

We’ve now clearly established that this deadly disease does not target race or ethnicity, but it does expose and amplify areas of life that are deeply racialised such as ‘low pay, zero hour contracts, overcrowded housing, and inequality in health.

OBV Chair, Rita Patel said:

Out of this awful crisis it is beholden on us to rebuild our institutions fairer, more equal and by doing so they’ll be more dynamic.

Notes to editor:

Leading figures led by Lord Simon Woolley including Mayor Marvin Rees, the writer Afua Hirsch, and MP’s including Clive Lewis, would now like to see a Covid -19 Race Equality Strategy. A petition set up by OBV has already received 5000 signatories in just a few days. Woolley states, the strategy would not only look at the immediacy of the crises- saving lives, but also as we come out this stage confronting a catastrophic economic downturn will require a clear and bold plan to avoid another huge negative impact on an already beleaguered community.

Information to sign-up and support the demand for this Covid-19 Race Equality Strategy.

Signatories:
Lord Simon Woolley, Operation Black Vote
Afua Hirsch Guardian writer and broadcaster
Marvin Rees, Bristol Mayor
Asher Craig, Bristol Deputy Mayor
David Weaver, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Tracie Jolliff, Head of Inclusive Leadership NHS
Baroness Bennett, Green Party
Baroness Ece, Liberal Democrats
Baroness Jones, Green Party
Clive Lewis MP, Labour Party
Dr Muhammad Bari, Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon
Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Lawyer, Political & Women's Rights Activist
Edie Freedman, Director, JCOR
Ganesh Sathyamoorthy, Senior Researcher, Imperial College
Harun Khan - Secretary General, MCB
Leroy Logan, Race Advisor, Liberal Democrats
Minna Salami, Writer, Presenter and Blogger
Nero Ugwujabo, Former No.10 Special Advisor, Conservative
Prof Francesca Klug, Human Rights Academic and Advocate
Prof James Nazroo, Department of Sociology, University of Manchester
Prof Kay Hampton, Professor of Communities & Race Relations
Rabbi Barbara Borts, Movement for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Danny Rich, Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism
Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, Principal of Leo Baeck College
Rabbi Dr Jackie Tabick, Reform Judaism Rabbi Irit Shillor, Harlow Synagogue Rabbi Monique Mayer, Bristol & West Progressive Jewish Congregation
Rev David Shosanya, Baptist Minister
Siobhan Benita, London Mayoral Candidate, Liberal Democrats
Sir Iqbal Sacranne OBE, Senior Advisor, Muslim Council of Britain
Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future
Yvonne Field, Founder and Managing Director,The Ubele Initiative