42% Of Patients Between 21 & 40 Years

Death toll rises to 75 in India with 2,904 cases, ICMR gives nod for rapid, antibody-based testing

About 42% of those confirmed positive for COVID-19 in India are between the ages of 21-40 years old, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday, for the first time throwing light on the demography of the disease in India. Only 17% of those testing positive were over 60.

By comparison, data from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control said 29% of those affected were in the 20-44 age group and 32% were above 60. India recorded 2,904 cases and 75 deaths as on Saturday compared to the 2,79,355 cases and 7,451 deaths in the United States.

However, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal, who shared the data with the media, did not provide any age-specific analysis on mortality in the country, only saying that most of those who succumbed to the disease were “aged” and also had underlying complications such as the diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Mr. Agarwal added that 9% of those testing positive were below 20 years.