The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world forever, and this week data was released revealing the impact of coronavirus on our borough.

At Richmond Council's Policy and Performance Committee on Tuesday councillors were provided with a detailed breakdown of how the virus impacted the borough.

It largely matched the national picture, with disproportionately more people being hospitalised and dying among the elderly, the black population, men, and people living in more deprived areas.

Data showed that 62 per cent of hospital spells involving coronavirus in the borough involved men.

Likewise, 22 per cent of coronavirus cases were seen in the borough's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic populations, despite these groups only making up 16 per cent of the population.

The over-representation of the BAME population grew in the hospitalisation rate, where they accounted for 27 per cent of those hospitalised.

People from BAME groups in Richmond made up 34 per cent of those employed in the 'distributions, hotels and restaurants' sector (which is particularly likely to be vulnerable to the impact of shutdown) despite accounting for only 16 per cent of the population, and Job Seekers Allowance data showed that there had been a year-on-year increase in claimants across all ethnic groups in Richmond, with the largest increase seen in BAME groups.

The borough's elderly population was also hit hard, with 76 per cent of Covid-related registered deaths among those aged over 80.

This meant that, unlike the national picture, in Richmond the White population did not see the lowest case rate, which may be related to the older age profile of White People in Richmond.