THE GOVERNMENT commissioned review into the impact of COVID-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic groups has been labelled a missed opportunity and criticised for its lack of recommendations.

The report by Public Health England has found that people from black and Asian backgrounds are up to twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than white people.

People from black backgrounds are most likely to be diagnosed with the coronavirus, while people from Bangladeshi backgrounds were found to be most likely to die from COVID-19 – twice as likely white people.

Additional findings show that deaths among black males were 3.9 times higher than expected during 20 March and 7 May.

Those from Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, other Asian, Caribbean and other black backgrounds face between a 10 and 50 per cent greater risk of dying than white Britons.

The review has confirmed that BAME groups are more likely to die but does not make recommendations on what should be done to tackle the disparity or why people from these backgrounds are more likely to die, something that has been criticised by campaigners and opposition MPs.

The British Media Association (BMA) described the review into the impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities as “a missed opportunity”.

BMA council chair, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said: “It is a statistical analysis, which while important, gets us no closer towards taking action that avoids harm to BAME communities.

“More specifically, the report fails to mention the staggering higher proportion of BAME healthcare workers who have tragically died from Covid-19 – with more than 90% of doctors being from BAME backgrounds. The report has also missed the opportunity for looking at occupational factors; the BMA was clear we needed to understand how job roles, exposure to the virus and availability of PPE were risk factors.”

Nagpaul added that the BMA and others concerned about the effects on BAME communities were hoping for a clear action plan to tackle the issues.

Marsha de Cordova, the shadow women and equalities secretary, was also among those who criticised the lack of recommendations.

She said: “The government must not wait any longer to mitigate the risks faced by these communities and must act immediately to protect BAME people so that no more lives are lost.”

De Cordova said the government had been shamed into publishing the report, which had been expected at by the end of May.

She described it as “notably silent” on what should be done to reduce the disproportionate impact on BAME groups.

Gill Walton, the chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “Today’s report tells us what we already knew: that those from black and Asian backgrounds have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic. While this affirmation is helpful, without clear steps by the government, it does nothing to protect people, particularly NHS staff who are likely to have heightened exposure to the virus.”

Health secretary Matt Hancock said a new review in partnership with PHE would be lead by junior equalities minister Kemi Badenoch.

Sky News reported yesterday that the publication of the PHE review was delayed due to concerns about the its “close proximity to the current situation in America”.

Solidarity protests have been organised in the UK in response to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and racism in the UK.

Acknowledging the global conversation on racism and racial inequality, Hancock said “black lives matter” during today’s Downing Street press briefing.