A new study has found that the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in London boasts 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 reported in the world’, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found.
An ultra-Orthodox man wears protective face mask and gloves while walking during the pandemic in the London Stamford Hill area.
(Photo: Reuters)
The research uses samples from about 15,000 members of the strictly Orthodox Jewish community of 23,000 people in London.
According to the BBC, the study took place in the course of December before another spate of infections dominated the UK, meaning current figures could be even higher.
The reasons behind these staggering numbers remain unclear, the researchers noted. Dr. However, Rosalind Eggo, co-author of the study, said that religious and ethnic minority groups are at a higher risk of infection at all stages of the pandemic.
Ultra-Orthodox man walks down the street in London
(Photo: Getty Images)
Although higher population density and poverty among the ultra-Orthodox community in the capital are responsible for some of the excessive diseases, Jewish men in Britain are still twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as their Christian counterparts – even after adjusting is for socio-economic factors.
The average ultra-Orthodox family counts between five and six individuals, compared to the UK average of 2.3.