An interesting read - Why is the death toll so high in Italy?
While the new coronavirus can infect people of all ages, older adults, whose immune systems have declined with age, appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill after contracting the virus.
In Italy, 85.6 percent of those who have died were over 70, according to the National Institute of Health's (ISS) latest report.
With 23 percent of Italians over 65 years old, the Mediterannean country has the second-oldest population in the world after Japan - and observers believe age distribution could also have played a role in raising the fatality rate.
Another possible factor is Italy's healthcare system itself, which provides universal coverage and is largely free of charge.
"We have many elderly people with numerous illnesses who were able to live longer thanks to extensive care, but these people were more fragile than others," Galli said, adding that many patients at Sacco Hospital - one of Italy's largest medical centres - who died due to coronavirus were already suffering from other serious diseases.
Read more -
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/italy-coronavirus-fatality-rate-high-200323114405536.html
While the new coronavirus can infect people of all ages, older adults, whose immune systems have declined with age, appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill after contracting the virus.
In Italy, 85.6 percent of those who have died were over 70, according to the National Institute of Health's (ISS) latest report.
With 23 percent of Italians over 65 years old, the Mediterannean country has the second-oldest population in the world after Japan - and observers believe age distribution could also have played a role in raising the fatality rate.
Another possible factor is Italy's healthcare system itself, which provides universal coverage and is largely free of charge.
"We have many elderly people with numerous illnesses who were able to live longer thanks to extensive care, but these people were more fragile than others," Galli said, adding that many patients at Sacco Hospital - one of Italy's largest medical centres - who died due to coronavirus were already suffering from other serious diseases.
Read more -
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/italy-coronavirus-fatality-rate-high-200323114405536.html
look at number of deaths per million
