Coronavirus: Are ethnic minorities at greater risk from Covid-19?

Analysis: Health correspondent Shaun Lintern examines the evidence

The last survey of NHS staff shows 45 per cent of medical workers are from an ethnic minority (Getty)

Behind the grim daily announcements of more deaths linked to the coronavirus disease lie heartbroken families. Across the country thousands of people are coming to terms with the effects of this virus.

While every death is a tragedy, there is growing concern about the numbers of black and minority ethnic patients affected by the disease. At first glance the data suggests Bame people are the preferred choice of victim for the Covid-19 virus.

Particularly stark are the numbers of frontline NHS Bame staff who appear to be paying the heaviest of prices for serving the public. After the first 10 UK doctors named to have died from Covid-19 were all Bame, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, head of the British Medical Association, called for the government to act to find out whether there were factors that put ethnic minorities more at risk.