People aged 70 or older accounted for 79%, or 789, of the total deaths related to the novel coronavirus in Japan, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun tally, reinforcing the fact that the elderly are at risk of developing serious symptoms that could be fatal.
On Monday, the deaths of a Tokyo man in his 70s and a Saitama Prefecture man in his 80s pushed the nation's death toll past 1,000. The number includes fatalities of people who were infected with the virus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Examining the 1,001 deaths by age bracket, the percentage of people in their 80s was highest at 35% (353), followed by people in their 70s at 26% (261) and people aged 90 or older at 17% (175).
Comedian Ken Shimura died on March 29 at the age of 70 after contracting the virus. According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the COVID-19 fatality rate among people in their 70s was 14.2%, while the figure among people in their 80s or older was 28.3%.
The number of deaths of people in their 30s or younger was five, including sumo wrestler Shobushi, who was 28.
By gender, men accounted for 587 deaths and women for 347. Gender has not been disclosed for 67 people.
When not including the 13 deaths related to the Diamond Princess, Tokyo had the most deaths at 327, followed by Hokkaido at 102 and Kanagawa Prefecture at 98.
Concerned about the coronavirus? Look for information and contact numbers here if you suspect you have contracted the virus and are exhibiting symptoms.
PLEASE NOTEThe Japan News is providing this story for free to help all readers keep informed about the coronavirus.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
