COVID-19: UK Oppn joins calls for probe into higher ethnic minority deaths
London: The UK's Opposition Labour Party on Saturday joined calls alongside Indian-origin doctors for a probe into the disproportionate number of black and minority ethnic (BAME) medics dying from the novel coronavirus in the country.
The move comes as UK health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that 19 National Health Service (NHS) workers have died with coronavirus since the outbreak began, around 10 of whom were of BAME backgrounds including Indian-origin doctors.
The disproportionate number of BAME doctors who have died from coronavirus is deeply disturbing, said Marsha de Cordova, Labour's Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary.
It reflects the shocking underlying inequalities facing BAME communities as a whole - who are disproportionately represented in the numbers of people getting the virus. The government must urgently investigate why BAME communities are more vulnerable to this virus, she said.
The shadow minister's intervention came as the British Medical Association (BMA) doctors' union and the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) also called for similar in-depth research and investigation.
We have heard the virus does not discriminate between individuals but there's no doubt there appears to be a manifest disproportionate severity of infection in BAME people and doctors.
This has to be addressed - the government must act now, said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA Council Chair, alongside a wider plea for better access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for medics working on the frontlines of the pandemic in NHS hospitals.
While it remains unclear whether the lack of PPE is directly linked to the recorded deaths of doctors in the UK so far, the BMA council chief urged action on assessing the factors behind the large numbers of BAME doctors and nurses among the victims of the deadly virus.
It comes days after BAPIO wrote to the Chief Medical Officer of England, Professor Chris Whitty, and Medical Director of NHS England Stephen Powis requesting all the official data available on COVID-19 hospital admissions for an in-depth research into the greater susceptibility of BAME and Indian-origin patients developing more severe symptoms of coronavirus and dying of COVID-19.
BAPIO said: We need a better understanding of the issues of BAME mortality in the context of the general population, particularly if it helps us manage sick and vulnerable groups, and so that we can be accurate in our messaging.
We are therefore asking that the data for COVID-19 cases, and most certainly those who have died as a result of the illness, incorporates ethnicity and profession, as well as the usual demographic data.
Indian-origin cardiac surgeon from Wales, 58-year-old Jitendra Kumar Rathod, originally from Gujarat, and Birmingham-based Hamza Pacheeri, 80, from Kerala are among the Indian-origin doctors who have died of coroavirus.
Indian-origin doctors make up a major chunk of the NHS workforce in the UK and BAPIO, their representative group, is urging the authorities to deploy senior and retired medics away from frontline duties until more evidence can be collated on the ethnic variables for COVID-19.
The UK's Department of Health has said it is working to protect all communities and has repeatedly pledged a boost to PPE supplies for NHS medical staff.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
