Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Leicester lockdown reflects Covid threat

By Professor Kamlesh Khunti

AS IS now known, the burden of Covid-19 has not been equal, with people from ethnic minorities being at increased risk of infection, severe dis­ease and death compared to white populations.


At the University of Leicester, we were the first ones to raise concerns about a possible link be­tween ethnicity and Covid-19 outcomes in early April, following which we had confirmed reports from the intensive care unit audit and also when the first 10 doctors in the UK to die from coronavi­rus were identified as being from ethnic minorities. These concerns have now been confirmed from a number of studies in the UK and from the US, with some studies showing that a third of Covid-19 pa­tients admitted to intensive care units were from an ethnic minority background.

After my colleagues and I first raised this issue, we have spent the past five months working with national and international scientists on various is­sue related to Covid-19 and ethnicity. One interest­ing early study we were involved in was led by NHS England and examined data from 61 million people in the UK. We found that Asian and black individu­als were between 30 and 70 per cent more likely to die from Covid-19 compared to people of white ethnicity.

The question we began to focus on next was why were ethnic minorities disproportionally affected by this pandemic? We reviewed the scientific evi­dence in June as part of a report for the South Asian Health Foundation. The available data appears to point to three main contributory factors.

Existing social inequality has left ethnic minority communities at greater exposure to Covid-19 as they are more likely to be deprived, live in over­crowded housing with multiple generations, and work in high-exposure occupations, such as trans­port or health and social care.

In addition, south Asian and black populations are more likely to have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease, which are related to poorer Covid-19 outcomes.

Finally, perhaps due to a lack of initial culturally appropriate public health messaging among some minority communities, there may have been less understanding of the need for social distancing and social isolation when an individual or family mem­ber displays symptoms.

Coincidental to the work we were doing, on June 29, the secretary of state for health, Matt Hancock, announced that Leicester was to be put under local lockdown due to a Covid-19 “outbreak” in the city. The majority of the population in Leicester is of a non-white ethnicity, and it was the first city in Eng­land to go into a local lockdown. When we looked at the data in Leicester, ethnic minority populations were over two times more likely to test positive for Covid-19 (both pre- and three weeks into the initial UK lockdown) than the white ethnic group, and to have a higher number of household residents.

Leicester is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the UK, so it is likely that social depriva­tion, overcrowded housing, and the multi-ethnic population of the city were key factors that contrib­uted to the rise in cases. We are still in a partial lockdown with certain restrictions such as curbs on gatherings in private homes and gardens. This has certainly helped reduce the number of people who have tested positive.

Members of our research group worked along­side the city’s public health team to help produce and disseminate culturally tailored public health messages in a number of languages. We also worked to ensure the local test, trace and isolate strat­egy was culturally adapted so it would work better in Leicester’s multi-ethnic population.

Alongside this, we were awarded prestigious na­tional funding for a range of studies on ethnicity and Covid-19. These include examining outcomes in healthcare workers which will try and identify the risk of being infected with and dying from coro­navirus in healthcare workers from various ethnic groups. We are also working with University of Ox­ford to develop a risk tool that will identify individ­uals at the highest risk of severe Covid-19, based on data from in a person’s general practice records including age, sex, ethnicity and comorbidities.

Sadly, the UK is again seeing rising numbers of positive cases, particularly among the younger populations. This could be due to a variety of rea­sons, including opening up of restaurants and bars and people returning to work, but the population really need to comply with all the safety measures including face masks, social distancing and general hygiene. Nationally we must avoid a second spike and further lockdowns in cities like Leicester.

We also need to make ethnic minority people aware of taking part in Covid-19 related research, particularly the ongoing vaccine trials. Our research group will continue to push forward trying to un­derstand what the risks are for ethnic minority groups, why these risks are greater compared to white populations, and how best to protect ethnic minorities from Covid-19 now and in the future.

The South Asian Health Foundation report on Covid-19 and resources, including videos in differ­ent languages, can be downloaded from www.sahf. org.uk/covid19

Professor Kamlesh Khunti PhD MD FRCGP FRCP FMedSci is professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine and NIHR senior investigator at Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester.

More For You

Chelsea Flower Show highlights Royal-inspired roses and eco-friendly innovation

King Charles III, patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, walks through the RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden during a visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show at Royal Hospital Chelsea on May 20, 2025 in London, England.

Getty Images

Chelsea Flower Show highlights Royal-inspired roses and eco-friendly innovation

Rashmita Solanki

This particular year at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, there have been two members of the Royal Family who have had roses named after them.

‘The King’s Rose’, named after King Charles III, and ‘Catherine’s Rose’, named after Catherine, Princess of Wales. Both roses have been grown by two of the most well-known rose growers in the United Kingdom.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Going Dutch may be a solution to get the UK’s jobless into work’

The growing number of working-age adults not in jobs places a huge financial burden on Britain, according to recent reports

‘Going Dutch may be a solution to get the UK’s jobless into work’

Dr Nik Kotecha

ECONOMIC inactivity is a major obstacle to the UK’s productivity and competitiveness.

As a business owner and employer with over 30 years of experience, I have seen firsthand how this challenge has intensified as the economically inactive population approaches 10 million nationally - almost one million more than pre-pandemic.

Keep ReadingShow less
Understanding the Hindu Psyche: Averse to Confrontation?

Artistic depiction of Arjuna and Krishna with the chariot

Is Hindu psyche averse to confrontation?

Nitin Mehta

Over 5,000 years ago, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, two armies comprising tens of thousands of men were ready to begin a war. The Pandavs were led by Arjuna, a warrior whose archery skills were unbeatable. At the last minute, before the war was to commence, Arjuna put down his weapons and declared to Krishna his decision not to fight. He reasoned that the war would kill tens of thousands of people all for a kingdom. It took the whole of the Bhagavad Gita to convince Arjuna to fight.

Even after Krishna destroyed all his doubts, Arjuna asked to see Krishna in his form as a supreme God. In short, Arjuna wanted to avoid confrontation at any cost.

Keep ReadingShow less
How Indian news channels used fake stories and AI to grab attention

The mainstream print media in India, both in English and regional languages, has remained largely responsible and sober

How Indian news channels used fake stories and AI to grab attention

MISINFORMATION and disinformation are not new in the age of social media, but India’s mainstream news channels peddling them during a time of war was a new low.

Hours after India launched Operation Sindoor, most channels went into overdrive with ‘breaking news’ meant to shock, or worse, excite.

Keep ReadingShow less
war and peace

A vivid depiction of the Kurukshetra battlefield, where Arjuna and Krishna stand amidst the chaos, embodying the eternal conflict between duty and morality

Artvee

War and Peace are two sides of the same coin

Nitin Mehta

War and peace have exercised the minds of human beings for as far back as history goes. It is no wonder then that the Mahabharata war, which took place over 5,000 years ago, became a moment of intense discussion between Lord Krishna and Arjuna.

Hundreds of thousands of people on either side were ready to begin battle on the site of Kurukshetra. Seeing the armies and his near and dear combatants, Arjuna lost the will to fight. How could he fight his grandfather Bhisma and his guru Dronacharya? He asked Krishna what all the bloodshed would achieve.

Keep ReadingShow less