Coronavirus fatalities in Italy largely among elderly, underlying conditions

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for May 26

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.

Those who fell prey to the novel coronavirus in Italy were overwhelmingly elderly people with underlying medical conditions, new data shows.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

According to data from the country’s ISS health institute, nearly 96 percent of coronavirus-related fatalities in Italy also had preexisting conditions. The virus took the lives of people in Italy who were, on average, 80 years old. The trend was also noted at a news conference on Friday by Silvio Brusaferro, ISS chief.

While the government plans to open its borders in early June, a raging nightlife scene has reportedly alarmed politicians. Though some young people may disregard health risks due to virus transmission, the ISS data shows that about 30 percent of coronavirus cases are among those under 50, Bloomberg reported. Further, as of May 25, just 1.1 percent of virus fatalities were among under 50 and more than 57 percent of the fatalities took its toll on people aged over 80 years old.

HEPATITIS DRUG EYED AS POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS TREATMENT FOR MILD CASES, STANFORD RESEARCHERS SAY

The most recent of the ISS’s weekly reports noted 4 percent of a sample, including 124 fatalities, had no previous pathology, Bloomberg reported. Previous conditions included diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

The figures may underestimate accurate counts due to fatalities in homes that were not tested.

There have been at least 230,555 confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy, with nearly 33,000 reported deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.