BAME healthcare workers and COVID-19

What we know about the risks so far – tracking the emerging evidence

Summary:

Black, Asian and minority ethnic healthcare workers are more likely than their white colleagues to die from COVID-19. Rupert Muiry considers the available evidence and considers how occupational health should respond to ensure that BAME healthcare workers can work safely during the pandemic.

In late December 2019, an outbreak of a novel form of viral pneumonia in Wuhan, China was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease, now known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) and rapidly spread across the globe, leading the WHO to declare a pandemic by mid-March 2020. Common symptoms include a fever, a prolonged cough and/or a loss of taste and smell, although the disease can also present itself asymptomatically. In more severe cases, pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome can ensue, sometimes leading to death¹  …..

Rupert Muiry is a research assistant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

 

Author: Muiry R

Tags COVID-19 healthcare worker pandemic

Occupational Health at Work October/November 2020 (vol. 17/3) pp16-21

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