British-Asian celebrities share urgent message about coronavirus

A group of British-Asian celebrities have created and shared a health advice video about the coronavirus targeting the Asian community.

The second video released on Apr 28 followed a similar video on Apr 20, both created following reports of the disproportionate impact coronavirus has on black, Asian and minority ethnic or BAME communities, according to a press release from Bangladesh-origin Rushanara Ali MP for Bethnal Green and Bow.

Actor and broadcaster Adil Ray, who produced the videos, said, “The virus isn’t stopping and neither should the messaging. We have to keep going. We all felt that we had to do something during these unprecedented times. This is where people might start to get complacent. We simply cannot afford to do that. Let's all do the right thing."

Nadiya Hussain, chef and presenter who features in the video, said, “This awful virus impacts us all. I just felt that I had to do something. I really hope we can make a small difference and help everyone in these challenging times.”

A report by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre on the first 3,883 critically ill coronavirus patients in the UK found that more than a third, or 33.6 percent, were non-white.

BAME groups form just 13 percent of the UK population.

The health advice given in both videos was developed in conjunction with Public Health England advice and Dr Sam Everington, chair of Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group.

The latest video also features cricketers Ravi Bopara and Wasim Akram, actor and comedian Paul Chowdhry, musician and composer Nitin Sawhney CBE, presenters Sonali Shah and Konnie Huq, broadcasters Satnam Rana, Nikki Bedi, Lisa Aziz, Hardeep Singh Kohli, musician Channi Singh, presenter and activist Mehreen Baig, writer Nikesh Shukla, actors Parminder Nagra, Archie Panjabi, Krupa Pattani, Shaniera Akram, Shobu Kapoor, and Mehwish Hayat.