A BMC medic collects a swab sample, at Kalina on Thursday. Pic/ Sayyed Sameer Abedi
More and more patients in the age group of 50-59 years are winning the battle against COVID-19, according to the past two weeks' data that shows a sharp decline in casualties among the quinquagenarians. The mortality rate has came down to 1.7 per cent as on September 29 from 5.5 per cent on September 15, all thanks to early detection of the disease.
Though the number of positive COVID-19 cases increased between September 15 and September 29, the overall deaths due to the virus dropped sharply, and particularly in the age group of 50-59 years. Around 25 per cent of the COVID-19 victims were in their 50s as on September 15, which dropped to 15 per cent on September 29.
The maximum number of COVID-19 cases in the second half of the month was reported among the 50-59 age group, at 5,502 but deaths were at 99. The number of cases among other age groups were all fewer than or around 5,000.
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Quick treatment helped
"High mortality in this age group was due to comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes and ischemic heart disease. The drop in mortality rate is due to better surveillance, early hospitalisation and regular use of anticoagulants in addition to the appropriate use of remdesevir and dexamethasone," said Dr Avinash Supe, chairman of the Death Audit Committee.
Still need to be alert
The older adults, who are most likely to be comorbid, have always been the most vulnerable to COVID-19, so the latest data brings some relief to those in their 50s.
A civic medic collects samples for COVID-19 test at Sarveswar mandir, Takiya ward.
But, it cannot be said with certainty that they are not vulnerable anymore, as the data is of a short period.
Also, the pandemic is nowhere close to dying down, so people need to continue taking all the precautions advised by the health experts and the government.
Meanwhile, the death toll has increased among the people aged above 60 years. A total of 195 of the 3,864 positive patients in their 60s succumbed to the disease. Now, 75 per cent of the total deceased — 653 — are aged above 60.
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