'Chaotic' coronavirus road map criticised by Sheffield's at-risk black and ethnic minority community

Black people are more than four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people, according to the Office for National Statistics, with people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani, Indian, and mixed ethnicities also at greater risk.

The Prime Minister yesterday set out his road map for easing the lockdown measures, which includes plans to reopen primary schools and begin a phased reopening of shops from next month, and to get parts of the hospitality industry up and running again as early as July.

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He also said that anyone who can’t work from home, including those in construction and manufacturing, should be ‘actively encouraged’ to go to work but should avoid using public transport if possible.

The Sheffield BAMER (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee) COVID-19 group, which was set up by various community organisations to help people across the city support each other through the pandemic, was unimpressed by his message.

In a statement, it said: “The Prime Minister’s speech lacked clarity and put additional pressure on people to return to work within 12 hours.

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“Without a plan or time to plan how people get to work and what they would be faced with in the workplace, it is a recipe for chaos.

“All employers, including BAME, would have had little or no time to prepare safeguarding of employees at risk or high risk.

“The Government’s claim to follow the science is without evidence. The proposed panel into why BAMER communities have suffered a significantly higher death rate has not studied the causes so cannot recommend a course of action.

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“It is inevitable that we will continue to see BAME deaths rise and probably increase now the lockdown has become so flexible.”

The group also called the plan for reopening schools ‘simply incomprehensible’ and said it would support any family refusing to send their children to school ‘under the chaos signalled by this latest policy’.