New Gauteng Covid-19 data reveals deaths by age in South Africa’s epicentre

The Gauteng provincial government has published the latest data on the spread of the Covid-19 cronavirus in the province, detailing which ages are most at risk, and how many beds are available to those infected.

The province has quickly become the coronavirus epicentre in South Africa, overtaking the Western Cape in terms of infections.

As of Thursday 16 July, the province now has 117,895 reported cases of Covid-19, accounting for 36.4% of the country’s total of 324,221 infections.

As many as 853 people have passed away in the province, while 5,748 people are currently in hospital being treated. 716 of these in-patients are in intensive/high care, while the balance are in the general wards.

The government has reported that 285 people are on ventilators, while 1,748 are on oxygen.

According to the provincial government, there are currently 8,520 beds available in the province, across both public and private hospitals.

There are 1,575 additional beds which are being prepared, with a target that they be ready by the end of July – of which, 900 are expected to be for ICU patients.

Affected ages

Of the 853 deaths recorded in the province, 66% have been people between the age of 59 and 79 – the majority of which are male.

The next age group most affected are 40 to 49 (10.9% of all deaths), and the 80 to 89 group (9.8%) of all deaths.

Comorbidities

According to the provincial data, diabetes and hypertension are still the most prevalent comorbidities in deaths, with hypertension showing up in 23% of cases, diabetes in 14%, and a combination of both in 18%.

Other comorbidities of note include Renovascular disease (5%) and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (5%). One quarter of deaths in province showed no comorbidities.

Alarmingly, 27% of deaths happen within a day of being diagnosed or admitted to hospital, showing how quickly the coronavirus can attack. 69% of all deaths in province happen within a week of diagnosis/admission.

A quarter (24%) of deaths happen after a week, the data showed.

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