Self-test swab

What is it?

Coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, meaning the virus has been transmitted from animals to humans. The main thing that differentiates coronavirus from other flu pandemics is that it spreads easily and widely.

As symptoms don’t appear immediately (and as severely as they did with SARS), coronavirus is harder to identify and isolate early. Many people don’t even know they’ve contracted it and they are spreading it without realising, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

The other issue is, coronavirus spreads from person-to-person, transmitted through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes. The infection can also be contracted by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, which can spread to the nose or mouth if hands are not washed thoroughly.
Millions of people get flu infections every year, with the majority making a swift recovery without
long-term complications.

Coronavirus “excess deaths” among ethnic minorities to be

investigated – BBC News

The government has been urged to recognise that race and racial inequalities are a risk factor for Covid-19 after research which has revealed that ethnic minorities in England are dying in disproportionately high numbers compared with white people.

The revelation that people from minority groups appear to be over-represented among the coronavirus deaths, by as much as 27%, “confirmed the worst fears” of campaigners who said there was now no question of an excessive toll.

The analysis found that of 12,593 patients who died in hospital up to 19 April, 19% were Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) even though these groups make up only 15% of the general population in England.

And the analysis revealed that three London boroughs with high BAME populations – Harrow, Brent and Barnet – were also among the five local authorities with the highest death rates in hospitals and the community.

The findings confirm suspicions raised by local reports, hospitalisation rates and evidence from other countries, that minority groups face the greatest risk. And they show for the first time that areas with high ethnic minority populations in England and Wales tend to have higher mortality rates.