Coronavirus deaths 'higher in deprived areas' of Black Country and Birmingham
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People living in deprived parts of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Birmingham face around three times the risk of dying from coronavirus than those in affluent areas, new analysis shows.
When examining the impact of living standards on the Covid-19 mortality rates, the Office of National Statistics found that in England the rate in the most deprived areas was 118 per cent higher than in the least deprived areas.
This is greater than the difference in the mortality rate for all deaths, which is 88 per cent higher in the least deprived areas.
For those deaths involving Covid-19 that took place between March 1 and April 17, the mortality rate in the most deprived areas was 55.1 deaths per 100,000 population in England.
By contrast, the rate was 25.3 deaths per 100,000 in the least deprived areas.
Table: Take a look at your area here
Mortality rates were 66 Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 population in Wolverhampton, while this rose to 70 in Sandwell and 78 in Birmingham.
In Walsall figures revealed there were 65 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 of the population. This sank to 48 in the Dudley borough.
In contrast, Stafford records a rate of 20 deaths per 100,000, South Staffordshire has a rate of 34, Wyre Forest has 37, Cannock Chase 39 and Lichfield 45.
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As an average across the West Midlands the figure was 43.2, second only to London which had 85.7 deaths per 100,000 population.
The ONS analysis also shows the Covid-19 mortality rate in the most deprived areas of England has been higher among men (76.7 deaths per 100,000 population) than women (39.6).
The latest figures released on Friday show 1,904 coronavirus patients have died in hospitals across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.
Nick Stripe, ONS head of health analysis, said: "General mortality rates are normally higher in more deprived areas, but so far Covid-19 appears to be taking them higher still."
The ONS has analysed details of the 20,283 deaths that occurred in England and Wales between March 1 and April 17, and which were registered by April 18, where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate as the underlying cause of death or a contributory factor.
The ONS has also created a table showing the number of deaths in postcode areas, including coronavirus, allowing people to enter their details to discover more.
Table: Discover the number of deaths involving Covid-19 in your area
In Wales, where levels of deprivation are measured differently to England, the ONS found that the most deprived fifth of areas had a Covid-19 mortality rate of 44.6 deaths per 100,000 population.
This is almost twice as high as the rate for the least deprived areas (23.2 deaths per 100,000).
The Covid-19 mortality rate for men in the most deprived fifth areas of Wales was 61.9 deaths per 100,000 population, compared with 32.0 for women.
