Two-thirds of the victims of the virulent coronavirus were men and 80 per cent of the dead were over 60 years old, a Chinese health official said on Tuesday.
The death toll in the coronavirus outbreak rose to 426 on Monday while the total number of cases increased to 20,522, according to Chinese health officials.
The majority of people who died were men accounting for about two-thirds and women for one-third, Jiao Yahui, an official of China's National Health Commission, told the media here.
More than 80 per cent of the dead were over 60 years old, and over 75 per cent had at least one underlying disease such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and tumours, Jiao said.
Elderly people with underlying diseases infected with any kind of pneumonia would be at a higher risk, she said.
With more hospitals being made available, she said, "we believe the fatality rate of Wuhan will drop gradually."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content