There is a real danger that COVID-19 will become entrenched as a disease of poverty

• While we have all experienced this pandemic together, we have not all had the same experience. Deprived and minority ethnic communities have borne the brunt of the pandemic so far and there is now a very real danger that COVID-19 will become entrenched as a disease of poverty.
• People in the more deprived community areas are more likely to catch COVID-19 for several reasons. Firstly, they are much more likely to have to work outside the home and in frontline roles, such as health and care workers, security guards, public transport workers, cab drivers and retail. These jobs are all associated with higher exposure to catching COVID-19.
• Secondly, those in more deprived communities are more likely to live in multioccupancy housing: those living in households with more than six people have twice the risk of infection compared with households with one or two people. Those in deprived communities have worse access to high quality green spaces which, as we move out of lockdown, is likely to lead to more crowded meetings outdoors or more meetings in higher risk spaces.
• Thirdly, many are financially unable to isolate. A recent paper in The BMJ reported that only about 20% of people with symptoms request a Covid test and only about half of those with symptoms isolate. It identified that being unable to isolate was a key factor in determining both testing and tracing behaviour. Dido Harding, head of test and trace, acknowledged that lack of support for isolation was lowering the effectiveness of contact tracing.
• Poor housing further exacerbates the problem as even those who do isolate risk infecting others in their household because of cramped accomodation. Researchers have argued persuasively that enhancing comprehensive support for isolation is crucial as we exit the most recent wave of infection.