70% of those who died due to Covid-19 in Kashmir were above 60 years of age

Nearly 70% of patients, who lost their lives to coronavirus in Kashmir, were aged 60 years and above, mostly with comorbid conditions, official data reveals.

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Out of the 78 Covid-19 deaths in Kashmir so-far, 54 were people aged 60 years and above while 24 among them were aged 70 to 80 years. The youngest person to die of the deadly viral infection in J&K has been a 15-day old infant, while 23 others aged less than 60 years have also died. Six people aged 30-40 years are victims of the virus in teh valley.

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According to J&K Health department data, out of 78 deaths, only eight people did not have any underlying disease. The most common underlying ailment in those who succumbed has been hypertension and diabetes, although a considerable number of people with heart ailments, cancer and other conditions have also lost life to the virus.

Experts in Kashmir have expressed concern at the trend of high risk population, the elderly and those with underlying diseases, losing life to Covid-19. “Those who succumbed to viral disease were those who would not have been outdoors due to their sickness or age. They paid the price for the restlessness and complacency of the young,” they said.

Dr Parvaiz A Koul, head department of internal and pulmonary medicine at tertiary-care SKIMS hospital said in keeping with the trends seen worldwide the highest mortality is of course observed in older adults and those with comorbidities.

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He, however, said that it was imperative that the younger population exercises infection control to safeguard the health of their kith and kin who may not be able to fight the infection off as well as they can.

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Srinagar with 21 deaths has the highest fatalities followed by Baramulla 13, Kulgam 11, Shopian 10, Budgam and Anantnag six each, Kupwara five, Pulwama four while one death has been reported from Bandipora.