Elderly Contribute to Almost Half of Indonesia's Covid-19 Deaths

COVID-19 death tolls are rising in line with the increasing number of positive cases in Indonesia. The coronavirus has claimed the most lives among the elderly (lansia) aged 60 and above.

This is reflected in data from the Ministry of Health, which shows that half of COVID-19 deaths are among the elderly. The proportion of elderly COVID-19 deaths ranged from 45.3% to 50.5% from January to mid-June 2021. Meanwhile, the 46-59 age group accounted for 32.7% to 36.2% of all cases.

Those aged 31-45 years who were infected contributed 10.7% to 13.3% of total COVID-19 deaths. This was followed by the younger age groups: 19-30 years (2.7%-5.1%), 6-18 years (0.6%-1.5%), and 0-5 years (0.6%-0.8%). This data shows that the higher a person's age, the greater their risk of death from the coronavirus.

However, children infected with COVID-19 are currently a focus in Indonesia. The proportion of child COVID-19 patients (0-18 years) reached 12.6%, or 250,610 cases, by Wednesday, June 23, 2021.

The government continues to urge the public to participate in suppressing the spread of the coronavirus. Everyone needs to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, and wash their hands with soap.