from the group. the labour party called for a public enquiry after the first 10 deaths in the health service were from bame backgrounds. the mayor of london sadiq khan wrote to the equality and human rights commission asking them to investigate whether the effects of coronavirus on bame groups could have been prevented or mitigated. a group of 70 bame figures sent a letter to boris johnson calling for an independent public enquiry into the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on people from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. research by the intensive care national audit and research centre concluded that people from bame backgrounds made up 34% of critical patients. nhs england and public health england were appointed to lead an inquiry into why people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds appear to be disproportionately affected by coronavirus. on 18 april, public health england said that they would start recording the ethnicity of victims of coronavirus. research carried out by the guardian newspaper concluded that ethnic minorities in england when compared to white people were dying in disproportionately high numbers. they said that deaths in hospitals up to 19 april 19% were from bame backgrounds who make up only 15% of the population of england. the office for national statistics (ons), meanwhile, wrote that in england and wales black men were four times more likely to die from coronavirus than white men, from figures gathered between 2 march to 10 april. they concluded that "the difference between ethnic groups in covid-19 mortality is partly a result of socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the difference has not yet been explained". some commentators including dr. john campbell have pointed to vitamin d deficiency as a possible cause of the discrepancy, but the theory remains unproven. another study carried out by university of oxford and the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine on behalf of nhs england and a separate report by the institute for fiscal studies corroborated the ons' findings. an oxford university led study into the impact of covid-19 on pregnancy concluded that 55% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with coronavirus from 1 march to 14 april were from a bame background. the study also concluded that bame women were four times more likely to be hospitalised than white women. a study by public health scotland found no link between bame groups and covid-19. a second public health england study found that those with a bangladeshi heritage were dying at twice the rate of white britons. other bame groups had between 10% and 50% higher risk of death from covid-19. public health england continued to report quarterly on the progress of its research. in its final december 2021 report it concluded that (a) the main factors behind the higher risk of covid-19 infection for ethnic minority groups were occupation, living in multigenerational households, and living in densely-populated urban areas with poor air quality and higher levels of deprivation; (b) once infected, the risk of dying was higher for older people, males, people with disabilities, and people with other health conditions such as diabetes, and (c) a gene carried by 61% of people with south asian ancestry doubled the risk of respiratory failure following covid-19 infection. as the vaccine programme gathered pace, it became clear that the level of take-up varied significantly between different ethnic groups. notably, those identifying as black or black british reported the highest level of vaccine hesitancy, at over 40%. fines and ethnicity figures from the metropolitan police showed that bame people received proportionally more fines than white people for breaching covid-related restrictions. coronavirus risk and employment status the ons study, using data collected up to 17 april 2020 across england and wales, concluded that men in low-skilled jobs were four times more likely to die from the virus than those in professional jobs. women who worked as carers were twice as likely to die than those who worked in technical or professional jobs. the gmb trade union commented on the findings that ministers must stop any return to work until "proper guidelines, advice and enforcement are in place to keep people safe". an analysis of the figures by the guardian concluded that deaths were higher in occupations where physical distancing was more difficult to achieve. analysis by the independent and the financial times concluded that mortality rates from coronavirus were higher in deprived and urban areas than in prosperous and rural locations, across england and wales. analysis of the ons data by the guardian also concluded that by 13 may, only about 12% of people who had died from the virus in england and wales were under 65 while 59% were over 80. a public health england report in june 2020 found that security guards, taxi and bus drivers, construction workers and social care staff were at a higher risk of covid-19 when compared to other occupations. death rate and brexit referendum in november 2021 researchers from the universities of oxford and glasgow published a paper stating that the covid-19 death rate was significantly lower (33%) in districts that voted most in favour of remaining in the european union in the 2016 brexit referendum. they suggest "different cultures and belief systems" should be taken into account in dealing with similar situations. notes number of deaths of people who had had a positive test result for covid-19 and died within 28 days of the first positive test. the actual cause of death may not be covid-19 in all cases. people who died from covid-19 but had not tested positive are not included and people who died from covid-19 more than 28 days after their first positive test are not included. data from the four nations are not directly comparable as methodologies and inclusion criteria vary. data on covid-19 associated deaths in england are produced by public health england (phe) from multiple sources linked to confirmed case data. deaths newly reported each day cover the 24 hours up to 5pm on the previous day. deaths are only included if the deceased had had a positive test for covid-19 and died within 28 days of the first positive test. data for northern ireland include all cases reported to the public health agency (pha) where the deceased had a positive test for covid-19 and died within 28 days. pha sources include reports by healthcare workers (eg health and social care trusts, gps) and information from local laboratory reports. deaths reported against each date cover the 24 hours up to 9:30am on the same day. data for scotland include deaths in all settings which have been registered with national records of scotland (nrs) where a laboratory confirmed report of covid-19 in the 28 days prior to death exists. deaths reported against each date cover the 24 hours up to 9:30am on the same day. data for wales include reports to public health wales of deaths of hospitalised patients in welsh hospitals or care home residents where covid-19 has been confirmed with a positive laboratory test and the clinician suspects this was a causative factor in the death. the figures do not include individuals who may have died from covid-19 but who were not confirmed by laboratory testing, those who died in other settings, or welsh residents who died outside of wales. deaths reported each day cover the 24 hours up to 5pm on the previous day. the majority of deaths included occur within 28 days of a positive test result.