Poorest people in England more than twice as likely to die from coronavirus as richest, new figures show
Those living in the most deprived areas on England are at greater risk of dying from the illness
2 min read
The poorest people in England are more than twice as likely to die from coronavirus than those living in the richest areas, bleak new figures have shown.
New analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there were 46,678 deaths related to the virus in England and Wales between 1 March and 31 March, around a quarter of all deaths recorded during the period.
But the study found the death rate in the most deprived areas of England was 128.3 per 100,000 population, compared to 58.8 per 100,000 population in the least deprived.
The stark analyiss comes after a recent Public Health England study found Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority people were also up to twice as likely to die of coronavirus than their white counterparts.
Sarah Caul, head of mortality analysis at the ONS, said the latest analysis showed that coronavirus appeared to be increasing health inequalities.
"People living in more deprived areas have continued to experience Covid-19 mortality rates more than double those living in less deprived areas," she said.
"General mortality rates are normally higher more deprived areas, but Covid-19 appears to be increasing this effect."
Responding to the data, Liberal Democrat leadership hopeful Layla Moran said: "These stark figures have exposed a shameful postcode lottery, with more deprived areas suffering the most from the impact of Covid-19.
"The poorest and most vulnerable in our society have paid the biggest price for the government's failures, from lack of PPE to the delay to lockdown."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
