A police officer uses megaphone to disperse shopkeepers, who gather to reopen their shops at a closed electronics market, as the lockdown continues during the efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Karachi, Pakistan April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Pakistanis and other non-white ethnic groups are more at risk of dying to COVID-19, a report from British media said on Thursday.
The report included statistics from different countries ranging from the United States to Finland that indicated that non-white ethnic groups have been hit worse by the pandemic.
It was discovered after taking various factors into account that black people are twice as likely to die from the virus whereas Bangladeshi and Pakistani people are 1.8 times more at risk as compared to their white counterparts.
Scientists studying the virus also noticed striking differences in death rates based on age, sex, and other factors. Black females were more likely to die from the virus as compared to black males, whereas Pakistani and Bangladeshi males are much more at risk compared to females of the same origin.
The risk of Chinese and other ethnic groups from the East Asian region was found to be similar to that of white people.
The report from Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said:
These results show that the difference between ethnic groups in Covid-19 mortality is partly a result of socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the difference has not yet been explained.
The researchers hope that genetics may hold clues to developing medicine or a vaccine.
Via Tribune