However, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECTC) has now warned that older people are becoming infected. According to the ECTC’s latest status report, new infection rates have been found in at least 13 countries in Europe between the ages of 65 and over – last week the ECTC rose to what is defined as “high” – from 100,000 in Croatia to 64,000 in the Netherlands Between 206.
A sharp increase in epidemics among the elderly in recent weeks has been found in almost all European countries where data are available.
In some Eastern European countries, the incidence of Govt-19 infection among people over the age of 65 is now twice as high as during the first wave – more than 100 in the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary.
The high infection rate among the elderly is of concern because the elderly are more likely to end up in hospital and face the risk of dying.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly 88% of deaths in Europe at the end of August were among people over 65 years of age. In the Czech Republic, people over the age of 65 make up 14% of the weekly epidemics, but as of October 11, 94% of deaths.
As the epidemic begins to spread among the elderly, hospitals will increase rapidly – as they did during the first waves of the virus in the spring in Italy, Spain and other countries.
The number of people over the age of 60 who tested positive in the UK has quadrupled compared to September, according to the latest data from the Department of Health and Social Security.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tom, the UK’s chief medical officer, told a government news conference last week that high infection rates, first seen among young people, had recently begun to “crawl” into the elderly.
Robert Koch, Germany’s disease control center, warned in its latest status report on Monday that “the rate of cases in the elderly is rising” since early September.
In France, the number of new Covit-19 cases among those aged 65 and over has tripled in just six weeks, according to the French health agency.
Although the average age of newly diagnosed with the virus has dropped from 40 in late July to 37 in late August, it has recently risen again to 39, according to Spanish data.
The spread of infections from young to old has been documented elsewhere.
Many European countries are now competing against the clock to prevent overburdening of their health systems.
Despite earlier suggestions in epidemics that if the elderly can somehow be protected from the virus, the rest of the community can continue to live normally, most governments are now realizing that the plan has failed.
Ireland, which has seen an increase in cases, announced on Monday that it would re-impose a six-week lockout from Wednesday.
The Spanish government declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region almost two weeks ago. Tuesday
In the United Kingdom, Wales will go into a two-week “firebreak” lockout on Friday, the country’s first minister, Mark Drakeford, said on Monday.
A curfew has been imposed in several major French cities, including Paris, Grenoble, Montpellier, Toulouse, Lille and Lyon, from 9pm to 6am.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced a new set of restrictions on Sunday, the fifth day in a row that the country has set new record highs. In particular, Conte authorized Italian mayors to issue curfews in public after 9 p.m.
Experts say widespread locks are essential to protect the elderly and vulnerable.
“We have seen an increase in the number of cases. It started in young people under the age of 20 and gradually spread to the elderly,” said Patrick Valens, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, at a conference last month. “That increase in the number of cases translates to an increase in hospitals. As hospital admissions increase …. sadly but unexpectedly, deaths are also on the rise.”
CNN’s Hillary McCann, Sarah Dean, Vasco Cottovio and Nina Avramova in London, Nicola Rutolo in Rome and Pierre Beirin and Eva Topioro in Paris.
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