(London) “The coronavirus in the UK will hit the poor more than the rich”. As the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise, renowned British epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot (pictured), experienced in the gap between the wealthy and those at the bottom of the social ladder, told SIR news agency about how the outbreak might evolve. “As I have shown in my studies – he explained to SIR -, the average lifespan of the most vulnerable members of the population has steadily decreased since 2010, because the poor have worse health than the wealthy. It is inevitable that the virus will claim more lives among those with more diseases and weaker immune systems”, the expert explained. “It is also harder for those who are stressed because they do not earn enough to make ends meet, overwork or have dependent children, to follow the government’s guidelines. If you are wealthy, you can stockpile food, afford not to work for a few days, and keep a distance from others; but if you have a precarious work, on which your family depends, you do not have this option”. “I welcome the government’s reassurance on sick pay, minimum wage, and other subsidies that will be paid upfront and increased to help the poorest members of the population, even though I am not sure that this will be sufficient to protect the most needy sections of the population”, Sir Marmot concluded