LONDON (AP) – Taxi driver Gary Nerden meets colleagues who have been seriously ill because of COVID-19. He knows the area of East London where he lives and works and has one of the highest infection rates in all of England. But since he can’t stop working, he drives picking up strangers for up to 12 hours a day, using a fragile plastic screen to keep him safe.
“I have people who tell me they are not going to wear a mask, that they are exempt,” said Nerden, 57. “I have diabetes, I have to look after myself. I clean the straps, the seat belt, after each client, but that’s all I can do, really. “
Nerden and his wife, a hospital administrative worker, live in the Redbridge neighborhood on the outskirts of London, which in mid-January had the second highest rate of coronavirus-positive residents: 1,571 cases per 100,000 people. Official figures estimate that at one point, 1 in 15 people there had COVID-19 – even after the government imposed a third national blockade to control a rapidly spreading and more contagious variant of the virus.
Redbridge and its surroundings, which lie in a passenger belt between the capital’s north-east and the Essex coast, have been dubbed the “COVID triangle” because they have all exceeded England’s worst infection rates in recent weeks. Although case rates have dropped significantly, local leaders said the situation remains critical and that the neighborhood is still “in the eye of the storm”.
They say the sheer number of essential workers in the area in public jobs, combined with dense housing and high levels of poverty, contribute to the reason why the virus has hit it much more strongly than most places in the UK. These factors also make fighting the pandemic particularly challenging.
“We have some of the most frontline workers here in the community: taxi drivers, NHS (National Health Service) workers, train drivers going to central London, temporary workers, cleaners,” he said. Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal said.
“People are taking chances – is it to feed my kids or take a chance on COVID? And, of course, they need to feed their children, ”added Athwal. “All of this explains the excessive number of virus infections, deaths, because people are having to leave to do their jobs.”
Many of these low-income workers with high exposure to the virus are of ethnic minorities, who are among those most at risk – as well as the most difficult to persuade to be vaccinated. Redbridge’s population is among the most diverse in the country, with large Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities and less than 40% of residents identify themselves as white English.
Numerous studies have shown that the pandemic is causing serious disproportionate illnesses and deaths among ethnic minorities and the poorest families. In the United Kingdom, Public Health England discovered that after taking into account factors like age and sex, people with Bangladeshi heritage were dying of COVID-19 twice as much as white Britons. Blacks and other Asian groups also had a 10% to 50% higher risk of death.
Experts say this is due to a combination of factors. People from minority groups are more likely to live in crowded housing and to use poorly ventilated public transport to get to work. They are also more likely to have long-term problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, which increase the risk of becoming seriously ill if they contract the virus.
Khayer Chowdhury, a Redbridge councilor of Bangladeshi descent, said that many Asian families in the neighborhood are multigenerational families living together under one roof, giving the virus a greater chance of spreading.
“Our diversity makes us unique, but it also makes us vulnerable,” he said.
Britain lost more than 100,000 lives to the coronavirus, the worst number of deaths in Europe.
“Here in the community, everyone knows someone who has passed away,” said Athwal. “Fear is finally starting to hit home.”
Officials say a small but growing number of people are breaking restrictions, in part because of tiredness of the blocking rules. The police interrupted meetings and “car meetings”, closing and fining clubs and restaurants for hosting parties. On a recent weekday, a large team of police officers patrolled the main shopping street, which was teeming with a steady stream of people, despite the government’s “stay home” message.
But the biggest challenge is in front of vaccination. Several studies in the UK have suggested that vaccine acceptance rates for coronavirus and other vaccines among blacks and minorities are significantly lower than in the general population. Some researchers say this is caused by the authorities’ long-standing distrust and the departure from public health messages, and is compounded by anti-vaccine posts on social media.
Local resident Salman Khan and his wife said they were unsure whether they would receive the vaccine if offered, because the pandemic made them question “whether the government and the news are telling the truth”.
Dr. Anil Mehta, a local doctor, said health officials are making every effort to reach the poorest and most difficult to reach communities. This week, he is offering vaccines in homeless shelters, hoping to inoculate many refugees from the area and those who sleep on the street. He said he also took on the role of “myth destroyer”, trying to dispel misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“People believe in all kinds of things – it is affecting fertility or against Black Lives Matter,” said Mehta. “There is a lot of hesitation, if they want to, if they trust us. This is our battle at the moment. “
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