In Britain, as in the rest of Europe and the US, the Black Lives Matter movement and the severe effects of Covid-19 on Black, Asian, and other ethnic communities have sharply awoken many of us to the nation’s historic institutional racism. A report by Public Health England published in June found that nonwhite Britons had up to a 50 percent higher risk of death from the coronavirus than white Britons (for Bangladeshi Britons this rose to twice the risk). Beyond vulnerability to infection at work, explanations for their higher death tolls include living in close-knit urban groups where social distancing is difficult; having to use public transport; the deprivation and poor health of many immigrants; and their reluctance to approach doctors or hospitals, part of a general distrust of authority.
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