Israelis age 60 and over account for some 75% of the serious COVID-19 cases in Israel, even though that age group makes up only one-fifth of total cases, according to a report by head of the Public Health Service in the Health Ministry Professor Siegal Sadetzki that breaks down what sectors of the population are most affected by the virus as of the start of this week (April 5).
According to the report, 25 of the patients listed in serious condition this past week were over 80 and 32 were aged 70-79. A total of 41 patients ages 60-69 were listed in serious condition, making this the largest age group among the serious cases.
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The report cited another four serious cases in patients in their 20s; six serious cases in patients in their 30s; eight serious cases in patients ages 40-49; and 17 patients ages 50-59 in serious condition. The Health Ministry has noted that it takes approximately two weeks from the time a patient is infected to the time his or her condition declines to the point they are listed as "serious," and said that the number of serious cases in Israel was continually on the rise.
Approximately half (27) of the 55 Israelis who had succumbed to coronavirus as of Sunday, April 5 (the number of deaths has since risen to 86) were 80 or older. Another 15 of the 55 were in their 70s. Eight of the deaths were people in their 60s. One woman in her 50s and one woman in her 40s had died of coronavirus as of Sunday.
According to the report, 23% of all corona cases were people ages 20-29; 14% were people ages 30-39; and another 14% were people ages 40-49. As of the start of this week, there were 386 corona cases in children up to age nine (4% of all corona patients) and 931 cases in children and youth ages 10-19 (11% of all corona patients). Patients age 80 and over accounted for only 3% of all cases, but again, a disproportionately high percentage of serious or fatal cases.
Sadetzki said, "When the first confirmed cases in Israel appeared, it was prevalent in people aged 40-69. At that time, most of the cases were 'imported' from abroad. The percentage of 20 to 39-year-olds of all confirmed cases rose significantly in the week of March 8-March 14. We should note that Purim fell on March 1, about a week before the aforementioned rise."
"Ahead of Purim, there was exposure to a patient who caught the virus abroad and brought it back at the Red Pirate shop in Or Yehuda, which caused the virus to be spread locally. In addition, the epidemiological studies show that a considerable number of patients were exposed and infected during holiday events.
"Thus, the Purim events helped spread the virus in Israel, especially among young people," the report concluded.
The report also looked at the symptoms of the virus, and reported that over one-fourth (27%) of children diagnosed with coronavirus are asymptomatic. In patients age 20 and over, 4-7% are asymptomatic.
"This figure indicates that children have the potential to spread the virus without anyone suspecting that they have it. In addition, we are seeing a trend that the older the patients, the more they present with a fever, along with respiratory symptoms," the report said.
"This data helps us set policy for sampling different age populations, determining the level of risk for worsened clinical situation and mortality, and determine the clinical symptoms that typify each age group," Sadetzki said.
