Why does Brent have the highest Covid mortality rate of any London borough?

How one London borough battled Covid-19

Brent is one of the most diverse areas in the city according to the last official census, there are 149 languages spoken in Brent including Arabic, Gujarati, Portuguese, Somali and Romanian. It has coined the name the London borough of cultures, a vibrant area with a mix of high income and deprived areas with a place for lots of ethnic minorities.

It is also an area that has been hit hardest by Covid 19. New figures show that between March and June 2020, Brent has had the highest Covid mortality rate than any other borough in London. The area saw a rate of 216.6 deaths per 100,000 people. Latest figures show that Brent has the worst death rate of any local authority in England and Wales per 100,000 population, with 490 deaths to the end of July, including 36 deaths alone in one of its most deprived neighbourhoods, Church End.

Figures released on June 12 show that people living in the most impoverished areas of England continue to experience coronavirus mortality rates more than double those living in the least deprived areas. This diversity has put the borough at risk, due to Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) being more at risk of catching Covid, a housing crisis as well as a lot of frontline workers from deprived areas in the borough. Pre-existing inequalities often linked to jobs, housing and health have played a major role in how at-risk people are.

Leader of Brent Council, Cllr Muhammed Butt, said in a Brent and Kilburn times interview that “Across the UK, Coronavirus has hit the poorest and most diverse boroughs, including Brent, especially hard”. He added, “Nine out of 10 of the worst affected areas are London boroughs and as one of the least well-off boroughs with the most diverse population we have been worst affected of all.” 

Why has Brent been highly affected? 

One reason for high Covid rates is those with pre-existing health conditions.

This has been the case for Fatimah, a Somali refugee who has diabetes, living in Church End, who fell severely ill with Covid. She says, “it has been a struggle trying to recover from Covid and the effects from it, I wouldn’t ever want to go through being in a Covid unit ever again and not being able to see my family”. 

The borough’s high Covid rates can also be linked to increased deprivation and the borough’s ongoing housing crisis. Inside Housing, a trade publication that covers the UK’s housing sector has found that sky-high rents are pushing many in the borough into poverty. According to Brent Council, families are “waiting an average of 14 years for a chance to live in social housing”. 

This housing crisis can date back to the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government introduced the Right to Buy Housing Act of 1980. This reform meant that people were able to sell their flats and houses in London and to move out into the suburbs. The impact of the right to buy allowed people to purchase council houses but meant that a lot of social housing stock was acquired by private landlords. This subsequently changed rental prices, with homeowners of a property that had been paying one thing to live in a council home, once it was sold and bought by a private landlord that rent was likely 33 percent higher.

We are also seeing a dramatic drop in council housing stock; the conservatives have limited the ability for councils to build council housing in the UK. That sort of double effect meant that we saw the number of households in council housing reduce from one in three to about one in 6.

I spoke to Aftab Hussein, a resident in Brent who has lived in the area for 25 years, he explains that “there is definitely a lack of space with housing in the area that I’ve seen and loads of poverty”.

Research by the Health Foundation found that overcrowded housing has helped to spread Covid-19 in England and “may have increased the number of deaths”

This overcrowding and lack of space is a significant risk factor for the virus.

The amount that people are spending on housing is impoverishing the people of Brent, with rent prices in the borough being similar to that of prices in central London, however peoples pay does not match this price. This discrepancy is causing severe poverty in the area.

A lot of people in brent are frontline workers, with postal workers, cleaners, shop keepers, taxi drivers, and bus drivers, who must work. This high exposure to the virus has affected Tony, a taxi driver. He says, “I was incredibly on edge and scared of getting Covid, I even had customers who wouldn’t wear masks in my black cab”.

What is being done to tackle Brent’s high Covid rates?

In February of 2021, The Central Mosque of Brent has been the first vaccination centre to open in the area. The success of its opening by NHS consultant and Covid-19 leader, Dr. Amjid Riaz says, “hosting the centre is important to improve access to the vaccine”.

The centre aims to vaccinate 1000 people a day and has focused on working to alleviate “any misinformation on the safety of vaccines and provide a safe and familiar place for the community”.

The huge success of the centre can be seen with its Super Saturday event held on the 3rd of July in which more than 1,000 people queued up to get their first and second jabs. The event was so popular a police escort was needed to get more vaccines.

Dr. Amjad Riyaz says “the site would not have been a success without the huge support of volunteers from the administrators, stewards, vaccinators, and medics”.

Mehtab a volunteer at Willesden Mosque who has been affected by Covid in the early months of 2021 says “the virus has affected family friends who are unfortunately no longer with us. Having to go through this mental trauma whilst having to stay at home has definitely affected the mental well-being of my friends and family”

His role in the centre varies from day to day. It can include IT assistance, outdoor marshalling, and translation assistance. “On the whole, I oversee any technical issues and ensure everyone is feeling safe and comfortable in our vaccination centre”.

Mehtab says “The local government authorities have tirelessly worked with vaccination centres and medical practises to ensure Brent is becoming Vaccinated”.

There has been an increase in vaccination pop-ups in areas where ethnic minorities are more prevalent which has increased the number of people getting vaccinated in the borough. Brent has also provided “in-depth online support and has provided financial assistance to those in need” says Mehtab.

He has also helped in the “very successful mass vaccination clinics vaccinating over 1100 residents in a day!”.

Figures within the Northwest London Health and Care partnership of people who have had both vaccines are still amongst the lowest nationally at 50.6 percent.

The clinic, run in collaboration with Mohammad Haidar lead GP and clinical director of K&W Healthcare has said in a Brent and Kilburn times interview that “The uptake rates and accessibility of the vaccine has been low in the South of Brent and centres like the one at the Central Mosque of Brent will help improve the situation.” 

Dr. Haida said that the programme had been a “huge success with our results being above our expectation”.