Black people more than four times more likely to die of coronavirus - new data revealed

Black people are significantly more likely to die from coronavirus than white people, shocking new data has revealed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said black males in England and Wales are 4.2 times more likely, while black women are 4.3 times more likely to die after contracting the virus, after accounting for age.

People of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian origin, as well as mixed ethnicities, also had a statistically significant raised risk of dying from coronavirus, the ONS found.

The analysis looked at how coronavirus has affected different ethnic groups from March 2 to April 10, registered by 17 April. As ethnicity is not recorded on death certificates, the ONS linked these to the 2011 Census which includes self-reported ethnicity.

The ONS said the results suggest that the difference is partly due to socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but some of the reasons remain unexplained.

After taking account of other factors, such as health and disability, black men and women were 1.9 times more likely to die from coronavirus than those of white ethnicity.

Bangladeshi and Pakistani males were 1.8 times more likely, and Bangladeshi and Pakistani females 1.6 times more likely, than white people when these factors were accounted for.

The ONS found increased mortality rates due to coronavirus for all ethnic minority groups, except for Chinese women. Overall, 83.8% of the deaths occurred in people of white ethnicity, with black people making up the largest minority ethnic group, accounting for 6% of the overall deaths recorded within the date range, the ONS said.

Its findings are similar to NHS England data which, when ethnicity could be established, found 82.7% of deaths were in white people and 5.7% in black people.