To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the study Socio-demographic heterogeneity in the prevalence of COVID-19 during lockdown is associated with ethnicity and household size, published in the EClinicalMedicine journal on 19 July, suggesting COVID-19 cases in Leicester have been concentrated amongst the BAME community.
Answered on
1 September 2020
The recent review published by Public Health England concluded that ethnicity is a factor on the impact of COVID-19. The National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation have commissioned research proposals to investigate the association between ethnicity and COVID-19. This research will complement the wider disparity review on COVID-19, which is led by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP). The study published in the EClinicalMedicine journal on 19 July will contribute to the work of the review. The Government welcomes and will continue to consider all relevant evidence on COVID-19.