Elderly members of an old age home receive food packets distributed by journalists in Siliguri (AFP photo)
NEW DELHI: Those above 60 years of age make up just 19% of coronavirus patients in India but account for 63% of the fatalities so far, with those having pre-existing health conditions being even more vulnerable, according to data released by the health ministry on Monday.
Of the rest, 30% of those who died were 40-60 years old and only 7% were younger than 40. As many as 86% of the fatalities had conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart and kidney disease.
An analysis of Covid-19 cases and fatalities till now also shows that men may be more susceptible to the infection than women. Of the total infected so far, 76% were males and 24% females, whereas men also accounted for more dea