E-Paper
20% corona patients above 60 in Punjab
HIGH-RISK GROUP 35% of the infected persons are between age of 41 and 60; average age of Covid-19 deaths is 64
CHANDIGARH: One in five persons infected with novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Punjab is above 60 years of age, but they are the most high-risk group, accounting for a majority of infection-related deaths in the state.
Of the 151 Covid-19 patients as on April 10, 35% are between the age of 41 and 60 years, according to information shared by the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Saturday. The next most-hit age bunch is between ages 21 and 40 comprising 32% of the coronavirus-infected persons in the state, followed by senior citizens who are above 60 and constitute 20% of the coronavirus patient group. Twenty-three patients, or 15%, of the infected persons are below 20 in the state with eight of them being below 10 years. A total of 23 corona patients have recovered so far in the state.
An analysis of age-wise fatality or death rate (deaths as a percentage of who tested positive) shows that senior citizens fall in the maximum risk category due to their underlying medical ailments. This elderly lot accounts for 8, or 67%, of the 12 coronavirus-related deaths in Punjab. Of them, two are above the age of 70, with Raj Kumari of Mundi Kharar area of Mohali being the oldest victim of the infection.
The 78-year-old woman had died at the civil hospital in Kharar on April 7, but samples taken after her death confirmed the infection on Friday. The average age of the patients who have died from Covid-19 so far is 64. Of the coronavirus patients, 56% are men while 44% are women whose proportion is quite high as compared to the all-India figure.
Punjab health department’s Covid-19 official spokesperson Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said the main reason for high death rate among the elderly patients was the co-morbidities (pre-existing disease conditions) which along with coronavirus proved fatal.
The most common co-ailments reported among those who died of novel coronavirus so far were hypertension, heart diseases and diabetes.
CASES DOUBLED TO 150 IN 5 DAYS
The state’s coronavirus cases doubled in five days last week. The count of positive cases took 20 days to reach 75, but then doubled very quickly following a sudden surge in number of cases in Mohali’s Jawaharpur village with a population of 3,000, which is the latest hotspot in Punjab with 37 cases so far. There was a strong suspicion of Tablighi Jamaat connection, but nothing is confirmed so far. There are about 20 positive cases with jamaat link in the state, though.
