Covid-19: 84% deaths in Mumbai in above-50 age group, says BMC data

Of the 9,152 people who died of Covid-19 in Mumbai till October 5, 7,752 (84%) were above 50 years and a majority of them had co-morbidities, according to the Brihanmumbai

Of the 9,152 people who died of Covid-19 in Mumbai till October 5, 7,752 (84%) were above 50 years and a majority of them had co-morbidities, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) data. While 2,623 patients were in the age group of 60-69, 2,110 were aged 50-59, 2,010 were aged 70-79, 899 were aged 80-89 and 110 deaths were of those 90 years and above.

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Dr Deepak Baid, president of Association of Medical Consultants, said, “People usually develop various health complications such as diabetes, blood pressure and cancer after a certain age. This reduces their immunity. This is why complications in elders are higher. BMC needs to appoint health professionals to check on patients above 50. Patients should also be given oximeters and their readings should be checked on a daily basis.”

The civic body said they are taking measures to bring down the numbers. “A majority of deaths are among patients in the 50-69 age group. So we had mandated institutional quarantine for Covid patients above 50 years of age,” said a senior civic official.

A circular issued by the BMC’s health department on August 20 had said that Covid-19 patients above 50 years of age or anyone who has co-morbidities, irrespective of their age, will have to go to Covid Care Centre 2 facilities (institutional quarantine) for treatment and isolation. However, the mandatory clause was later revoked.

The civic body has so far managed to bring down the fatality rate which peaked at 5.7% in July to 4.2%. When asked what were the efforts taken by BMC to increase the recovery rate among patients above 50 years of age, Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner (health), said, “We are currently focusing on Mission Save Lives to bring down the fatality rate to zero. Our focused efforts are towards ensuring that senior citizens and especially the ones with co-morbidities are looked after properly. Not just their physical health, but we are also taking measures to ensure their mental health is taken care of in order to boost their immunity to fight the virus.”