60% Death Rate Among COVID-19 Patients Older than 60: Egypt’s Health Minister

Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article stated that the death rate among COVID-19 patients aged 70 and older is seven percent, this is incorrect. The ministry’s statement indicated that the infection rate for individuals older than 70 is seven percent. 

In a press conference on Tuesday, Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed announced that outpatient clinics have been opened at hospitals across the nation in order to follow up with COVID-19 carriers who suffer from chronic conditions, Sky News Arabia reports.

The minister also revealed that individuals who suffer from hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, respiratory illnesses and pregnant women are most likely to contract the novel coronavirus.

The official revealed further data about the spread of the disease across Egypt, saying that Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia and Fayoum have recorded the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases, while the Marsa Matruh, North Sinai, South Sinai, El Wadi El Gedid, and the Red Sea governorates have shown the country’s lowest infection rates.

Internationally, Egypt has recorded the fewest COVID-19 deaths, according to Zayed, adding that men are more likely to contract the novel coronavirus than women—with infection of 55 percent among men and 45 percent for women.

Zaher revealed that most COVID-19 deaths recorded in Egypt were among cancer patients and those who suffer from digestive, heart, liver and kidney diseases and that 80 percent of the country’s coronavirus cases are aged between 30 and 60, while 20 percent are older than 60 years of age. The ministry’s findings concluded that people aged between 20 and 60 years of age are most likely to contract the potentially deadly disease.

Finally, the minister stated that the death rate among COVID-19 patients older than 60 years of age is 60 percent, while the infection rate is seven percent for individuals older than 70.

These facts and figures come as experts warn of the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases in Egypt, with 97 deaths reported on Monday alone, the highest daily death toll recorded in the country since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Ministry of Health’s latest count, reported on Tuesday, Egypt has recorded 47,856 COVID-19 cases and 1,766 deaths in total so far.