Virus risks creating ‘lost generation of youngsters’

The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately hit the young, the old and those from ethnic minorities, the official human rights watchdog has warned.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the virus was in danger of creating a "lost generation" of young people who had seen their career prospects st all and were at high risk of losing their jobs.

Disruption to education meant progress made in recent years in closing the "attainment gap" in primary and secondary schools was likely to be affected by school closures - with differences in home learning and access to technology, the commission said.

Boys, pupils from some ethnic minority groups, those with special educational needs and disability, and those who were socio-economically disadvantaged, were among those who could fall further behind.

At the same time, the EHRC said some ethnic m in ority groups have been facing a "perfect storm" of being both more likely to die from the virus and more likely to experience financial hardship as a result of the pandemic.

Those from certain ethnic minority groups-including Bangladeshi, black African and Pakistani people - were already closest to the poverty line, a situation that was expected to worsen as Government support schemes come to an end, leading to further hardship.

The commission added that the pandemic had also" devastated" the country’ s care sector, with care home residents accounting for at least 40 per cent of corona virus deaths across the UK.