A new study has found that London’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community has one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the world at 64%, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
This figure is nine times higher than the average British infection rate, which stands at around seven per cent and is reportedly “one of the highest in the world”, found the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
An ultra-Orthodox man puts on a protective mask and gloves as he walks through the Stamford Hill district of London during the pandemic
(Photo: Reuters)
The investigation used samples from about 15,000 members of the strictly Orthodox Jewish community of 23,000 people in London.
According to the BBC, the study was conducted in December, before another wave of infections swept across the UK, meaning current figures could be even higher.
The researchers noted that the reasons for these startling figures are still unclear. However, Dr. Rosalind Eggo, co-author of the study, said religious and ethnic minority groups have had a higher risk of infection at all stages of the pandemic.
An ultra-Orthodox man walks the streets of London
(Photo: Getty Images)
While a higher population density and poverty among the capital’s ultra-Orthodox community may account for some of the excessive morbidity, Jewish men in Britain are still twice as likely to die of COVID-19 than their Christian counterparts, even after having adjusted for socioeconomic factors.
The average ultra-Orthodox family has between five and six people compared to the UK average of 2.3.