Low earners may be more likely to die from coronavirus than high earners, according to an analysis of first wave deaths by researchers at Amsterdam’s UMC teaching hospital and national statistics agency CBS.

The researchers looked at the backgrounds of the 10,067 people who are confirmed or almost certain to have died from coronavirus between March and July last year to assess if background had made a difference.

The research showed that among the under 70s, people with a low income were three times more likely to die from coronavirus than the better off.

This could be due to the fact they are more likely to live in cramped housing, which meant the virus spread more easily, and may also have suffered from other health issues associated with low incomes, the researchers said.

The research also showed that people with a ‘non-western’ background were also more likely to die from coronavirus than the native white Dutch if they lived in the Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam regions.

People with a Turkish or Surinamese background were more likely to die than those with Moroccan or Antillean roots.

However, in the south of the country, where coronavirus first took hold, there was little difference in the death rate among different ethnic groups.

The analysis only covers the first five months of the pandemic and the researchers are now looking at later developments to assess if there is a difference.