CORONAVIRUS
Coronavirus: What are the risk groups?
There is a limited amount of information but there are a number of groups at higher risk of getting the virus and falling seriously ill from it.
The coronavirus has sent shockwaves through the world. It has led to a series of questions too. Who is vulnerable? What are the symptoms? Is there something worse coming down the line? How is it tested? Given the newness of the virus, we are getting fed various information from a range of sources about how to protect yourself from it and what to do if you think you might have it.
Many countries in the world have been locked down with Spain and Italy, in particular, being isolated for the last number of weeks. The elderly have been told to stay home and those with underlying medical conditions also but who are the risk groups? According to the Centrers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are several.
Coronavirus: risk groups
- People aged 65 years and older
- People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility
- People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including: People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma, People who have serious heart conditions, People who are immuno-compromised. (Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications.)
- People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)
- People with diabetes
- People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
- People with liver disease
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