GOVERNMENT failures to provide Covid-19 guidance in other languages has endangered the health of non-English-speaking residents, charities and councils warned on Monday.

In a joint letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, Doctors of the World UK expresses concern that a lack of translated guidance has denied non-English speakers information on how to stay safe during the pandemic.

The charity has had to take it upon itself to produce guidance in over 60 languages in the absence of adequate efforts by ministers.

While the government has translated Covid-19 guidance into over 25 tongues, this is far short of the 88 different languages spoken in Britain. 

The letter, signed by some 30 charities and local councils, tells Mr Hancock that this resource has been accessed 59,000 times, “demonstrating the need for translated guidance in a range of languages.”

It reads: “To stop the spread of Covid-19 and end this pandemic, it is essential that everyone receives accurate information about the virus and public health measures in place.”

The government has also failed to regularly update guidance in other languages, the groups said. 

For example, the current social distancing rules, titled Stay Alert – What You Can Do, are only available in English. 

Doctors of the World UK Head of Policy and Advocacy Anna Miller said the charity has had to “step in to fill the gap” left by the government’s failure to cover the needs of Britain’s diverse communities. But she stressed that as lockdown measures ease “it is not sustainable or practical for local authorities and organisations like us to meet this need.”

The charity has urged ministers to ensure that non-English speakers are included in the government’s response to the crisis and to produce information that “reflect England’s multilingual communities.”

The charity also highlights a Public Health England recommendation, contained in the report on how Covid-19 has disproportionately hit black and ethnic minority (BAME) communities, that health guidance should be issued in more languages. 

A separate report by public health charity Medact in June found that poor communication with migrant communities had left them unaware they could access health care for Covid-19. 

Although the virus had been added to a list of diseases exempt from NHS charges for migrants without status, only 20 per cent of support workers surveyed agreed that migrants knew of the change. 

Medact campaigner and former nurse James Skinner told the Star: “Our research has shown that even where people are able to access information about the care they are entitled to, it is often not enough to give them the confidence to seek help.

“Translated guidance is the very least the government could do.”

A government spokesperson said ministers had ensured that coronavirus public information campaign materials were “accessible to a wide audience.”