More men dying of covid19 in TT

In TT, men are dying of covid19 at a higher rate than women.

During the covid19 press conference on Saturday, Dr Anthony Parkinson, technical adviser, hospital services in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, said the male to female ratio was five to one and doctors are still looking into why that is the case.

He said so far there was a pattern with comorbidities and deaths. Hypertension and diabetes were the most common, followed by chronic diseases. Eighteen per cent of those who died had cardiac issues, while ten per cent had a history of cancer.

Also, those who regularly consume alcohol and long-time smokers often had to be admitted to the intensive care unit.

He said most of the deaths were of people 65 years and older but there had been cases that did not fit that mould. He recounted the case of an elderly man who had heart issues, diabetes and hypertension who was twice warded in the ICU, and was now much better on the lowest amount of oxygen.

While covid19 is not a death sentence people, including younger people, need to be careful. He said there was a 34-year-old person with no comorbidities who died. He stressed that, while it was a small chance, young people were not immune to covid19.