{"id":386387,"date":"2020-03-31T13:57:42","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T11:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=386387"},"modified":"2020-03-31T13:57:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T11:57:42","slug":"new-study-shows-how-the-coronavirus-impacts-people-in-different-age-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/386387\/new-study-shows-how-the-coronavirus-impacts-people-in-different-age-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"New study shows how the coronavirus impacts people in different age groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study of the Covid-19 death and hospitalisations cases in China has provided some clarity on how the coronavirus impacts people of different age groups.<\/p>\n

The study – which was published in The Lancet’s Journal of Infectious Diseases<\/a><\/strong> – focused on 70,117 laboratory-confirmed and clinically diagnosed cases from mainland China.<\/p>\n

Using this data, the researchers found a total fatality rate of around 1.67%. However, the researchers noted that this fatality rate was disproportionately skewed towards older patients, with children under 10 reporting a fatality rate of less than 0.01%.<\/p>\n

By comparison, the fatality rate for those who were in the 80 years+ group was found to be closer to 8%.<\/p>\n

Similarly, less than 0.5% of patients between the ages of 10-19 required hospitalisation, whereas more than 18% of people in the 80+ age group did.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur estimates can be applied to any country to inform decisions around the best containment policies for Covid-19,\u201d professor Azra Ghani, a co-author of the study, told The Guardian<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur analysis very clearly shows that at aged 50 and over, hospitalisation is much more likely than in those under 50, and a greater proportion of cases are likely to be fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Similarly, a study by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showed the hospitalisation rate by age group – taking data from 14 European countries.<\/p>\n

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Lab-confirmed cases are only a fraction of total cases.<\/p>\n

Between 10% to 15% of young people with lab-confirmed cases needed hospital treatment.<\/p>\n

This is until last week and across 14 European countries.<\/p>\n

Source is the @ECDC_EU<\/a> here https:\/\/t.co\/SonidMCYUW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RW9Vy6z0CB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) March 31, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n