Higher Covid Death Rate Hits Elderly Home Residents

Health authorities have highlighted the need to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks in elderly care homes after a study showed a sharply higher death rate for those who lived there and were infected with coronavirus.

According to a study by the Hospital Authority of almost 4,000 Covid-19 cases reported before August 7, about 2 percent of patients aged between 60 and 79 who did not live in a care home had died.

The mortality rate was 14 percent for care home residents in the same age group who'd contracted the virus.

Hong Kong's overall Covid-19 death rate was 1.8 percent as of August 7.

The Hospital Authority's director for quality and safety, Dr Chung Kin-lai, said senior citizens living in elderly care homes are generally in poorer health, which could help to explain the higher mortality rate.

"This group of elderly, in particular... we need to protect them from catching the coronavirus," he said.

Overall, the mortality rate among coronavirus patients in Hong Kong under the age of 60 was 0.1 percent. But the rate was much higher for elderly patients, hitting 26.8 percent for those aged between 80 and 89 and 34.1 percent for those over 90.

The death rate among male patients was 2.4 percent, compared with 1.3 percent for female patients.

Chung also said that from Wednesday, the Hospital Authority would test all patients admitted to public hospitals for Covid-19.

He added that the screening of recovered elderly patients would be stepped up when they return to their care homes from hospital.