On Thursday 22nd October, the UK government announced a series of measures as part of a review into the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on the black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.
According to the first quarterly report, the government has mandated that ethnicity of an individual must be recorded as part of the death certification process.
Speaking at the floor of the Commons, Kemi Badendoch, Minister for Equalities said, “There are other measures we can take to protect those most at risk, particularly those from minority groups. So, in my report to the Prime Minister I outlined a number of recommendations and next steps. These include mandating the recording of ethnicity data as part of the death certification process, as this is only way we will be able to establish a complete picture of the impact of the virus on ethnic minority groups; appointing two expert advisers on Covid-19 and ethnicity who will bring expertise from the fields of medicine.”
In its first quarterly report, the Cabinet Office’s race disparity unit (RDU) has gathered evidence and data and summarised the work undertaken across government since the first review commissioned by the Public Health of England. Other steps the Government will take include updating the shielded patient list and establishing a series of roundtables over the coming months with faith leaders and other community representatives.
In the meantime, a separate Labour report has highlighted that Covid-19 "thrives" among black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) communities because of structural race discrimination.
Authored by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the report notes that ethnic minority groups were "over-exposed" and faced "barriers" to healthcare.
She wrote, “The impact of Covid-19 is not random, but foreseeable and inevitable, the consequence of decades of structural injustice, inequality and discrimination that blights our society. The report said BAME workers were more likely than white people to work in "frontline" jobs and come into contact with coronavirus.”
