By Higher Covid-19 death rate among male carers, taxi drivers and chefs
New figures issued by the Office for National Statistics have suggested a higher Covid-19 death rate among male carers, taxi drivers and chefs.
According to the data, men working in several occupations had raised rates of deaths involving the disease when compared with people of the same age and sex in England and Wales.
The release of these figures comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces that those who cannot work from home, should now be actively encouraged to return.
The UK Government have simultaneously extended the furlough scheme until October.
Security guards had one of the highest rates with 45.7 deaths per 100,000, while taxi drivers and chauffeurs had a rate of 36.4.
Male bus and coach drivers were found to have a rate of 26.4 deaths per 100,000, chefs a rate of 35.9, and sales and retail assistants a rate of 19.8.
The figures are based on an analysis of the 2,494 registered deaths involving coronavirus among workers aged 20 to 64 in England and Wales up to and including April 20.
Overall researchers found that nearly two thirds of these deaths were among men (1,612), with a rate of 9.9 deaths per 100,000 people.
This is higher than the 882 deaths among women, representing a rate of 5.2 deaths involving Covid-19 per 100,000.
One union boss said the figures, which come the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should start going back to work if they cannot work from home under conditional plans to ease the lockdown, were “horrifying”.
John Phillips, acting GMB general secretary, said:
“These figures are horrifying, and they were drawn up before the chaos of last night’s announcement.
“If you are low-paid and working through the Covid-19 crisis, you are more likely to die – that’s how stark these figures are.
“Ministers must pause any return to work until proper guidelines, advice and enforcement are in place to keep people safe.”
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