Ethnic minorities disproportionately contracted coronavirus: Study
Asian coronavirus
People from ethnic minority groups suffered disproportionately because of the novel coronavirus, with Blacks and Asians being at increased risk of infection compared to white individuals, an analysis by medical journal Lancet found.
"Asians may be at higher risk of ITU (intensive therapy unit) admission and death," it said, as quoted by news agency Reuters.
"These findings are of critical public health importance in informing interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality amongst ethnic minority groups."
About 18.7 people infected with Covid-19 from 50 studies were included in the analysis, and among these 42 studies were from the US and eight from the UK.
It said people belonging to these minority groups are more probable to be working for essential services and therefore are less likely to work from home, thereby increasing the chances to contract the virus.
Such people also are likely from lower socio-economic status, which suggest that they are most likely to be staying in overcrowding accommodations or one with shared facilities, the analysis said.
Compared to white people, blacks are twice as likely to contract coronavirus and Asians are one a half time more likely, it found.