Image: Dreamstime/DGMate
New government figures have revealed that a total of 87 people in skilled construction and building trades have so far died from covid-19.
All of the victims of the disease in the category so far have been male, with zero deaths among female workers.
The figures mean that the death rate from covid-19 among male skilled construction and building trades in England and Wales aged between 20 and 64, covering the period from 9 March to 20 April, was 10.4 per 100,000.
Overall, deaths involving covid-19 for males ageed 20-64 in England and Wales was 1,612 over the period, giving a mortality rate of 9.9 per 100,000. There were 882 covid-19 deaths among women, giving a death rate of 5.2 per 100,000.
The findings are based on official Office for National Statistics calculations, based on provisional data, and the findings could change as more deaths are registered.
Because the occupation of people who have died is recorded alongside their cause of death in more than 80% of cases, it has enabled the ONS to break covid-19 deaths down by the type of work they did. It is not an indication that they caught covid-19 during the course of their work.
The ONS also revealed the number of “all causes of death” fatalities among construction workers over the same period. There was a total of 561 deaths among men, giving a mortality rate of 66.5 per 100,000. During the same period, a total of five female construction workers died from all causes.
Source: ONS (deaths involving covid-19 among occupation groups by sex, aged 20-64, England and Wales, deaths registered up to and including 20 April 2020
