Less than 12% Covid-19 cases were found in people below 20 years of age in first and second waves: Govt

In its regular press briefing, the Union ministry of health and family welfare shared data on the age-wise distribution of Covid-19 cases during the first and second wave in India.

The Union government on Tuesday stressed the need to spread awareness about Covid-19 pandemic among children and families in the society. The government also said that there is no need to panic about children getting infected in successive waves of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

“There is no need to panic about children getting infected in successive waves; need to spread awareness among children and every family in the society,” Union health ministry's joint secretary Lav Agarwal said on Tuesday. (PTI)

In its regular press briefing, the Union ministry of health and family welfare shared data on the age-wise distribution of Covid-19 cases during the first and second wave in India.

The ministry’s joint secretary Lav Agarwal stressed on the importance of spreading awareness about the disease among children and families. “There is no need to panic about children getting infected in successive waves; need to spread awareness among children and every family in the society,” the joint secretary said while briefing on the pandemic situation in the country.

First wave of Covid-19 was prevalent between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 while the second wave was at its peak between March 15, 2021 and May 25, 2021, data shared by the ministry showed. During both waves, the case distribution among the age groups looked mostly similar with some differences.

The data presented by the ministry showed that 3.28% Covid-19 cases in the first wave and 3.05% cases in the second wave were detected in children 1 to 10 years old. Also, the 11 to 20 age group accounted for 8.03% and 8.57% cases during the first and second waves respectively.

People between 21 and 60 years of age reported almost 75% of all cases during the first and second waves.

Covid-19 was more prevalent in people between 31 and 40 years of age. The data showed that 21.23% infections in the first wave and 22.70% in the second were reported by people from this age group. Also, the 21 to 30 age group remained the second most affected.

Lav Agarwal also said that the country’s active caseload and the average number of daily new infections have also reduced in the past week while the case positivity rate across the country has reduced. Also, as of the week ending on June 13, 196 districts were reporting over 100 daily new cases compared to the 531 districts as of the week ending on May 4, 2021, the joint secretary further highlighted.