Review into deaths of London bus drivers suggests earlier lockdown would have saved lives

An independent review into the deaths of London bus drivers from COVID-19, led by the UCL Institute of Health Equity suggests an earlier lockdown would have saved lives. The review also shows that many of the drivers who died had underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk  greater risk during the pandemic. The independent review was commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) as an urgent response to understand more about the factors relating to the tragic deaths of colleagues in the bus industry. The review finds it is likely that the front-line nature of bus driving contributes to the risk of death from COVID-19 nationally and in London. The mortality rate in London bus drivers aged 20-64 was in fact 3.5 times higher than men of the same age in all occupations in England and Wales from March to May, likely due to London being an early centre of the pandemic. Given the dramatic effect of lockdown on reducing the risk among London's bus drivers it is not possible at this stage to evaluate the protective measures that bus operators took - those will be examined in the second stage of the review. Additional risks identified include where the bus drivers lived (for example, in areas with above average levels of deprivation) and their ethnic background. Many of the London bus drivers who died from COVID-19 were suffering with underlying health conditions particularly high blood pressure (which is also associated with cardiovascular disease). Of the 13 death certificates provided by relatives, high blood pressure was identified as a contributory factor to the driver's death in seven cases.