Proportion of young people with coronavirus has tripled in five months, WHO warns
Young people going to nightclubs and beaches has led to a rise in new coronavirus cases across the globe, the World Health Organization has said.
The proportion of those aged 15 to 24 who are infected has tripled from 4.5% to 15% in about five months, according to the WHO.
Apart from the United States, which leads a global tally with 4.8 million total cases, European countries including Spain, Germany and France and Asian countries such as Japan have said many of the newly infected are young people.
Figures from England show infections have been primarily in older groups but recent stats showed positive tests in younger people aged 15-44 had risen.
The highest infection rate in England at the moment (excluding over 85s) is among the 15-44 age group and the latest Public Health England weekly surveillance report showed this rate was rising slightly.
A recent study from Imperial College London involving 120,000 swabs taken in England showed those aged 18-24 had the highest levels of infection.
"We've said this before and we'll say it again: young people are not invincible," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news briefing in Geneva.
"Young people can be infected, young people can die, and young people can transmit the virus to others."
Last week Dr Hans Kluge, Europe regional director for the WHO, warned young people could be spreading coronavirus, which could lead to a second wave in different parts of the world.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “An increasing number of countries are experiencing localised outbreaks and a resurge in cases.
“What we do know, is that it’s a consequence of change in human behaviour.
“We’re receiving reports from several health authorities of a higher proportion of new infections among young people.
“So for me, the call is loud enough to rethink how to better involve young people.”
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