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WHO Warns Young People COVID-19 May Hit Hard

VOA News

   The resurgence of the coronavirus in many countries is "driven in part
   by younger people letting down their guard during the Northern
   Hemisphere summer," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros
   Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday.

   Young adults, many without masks, are ignoring social distancing
   recommendations to pack bars, nightclubs, and beaches that have been
   reopened since authorities lifted coronavirus restrictions.

   "The majority of young people infected tend to have more mild disease.
   But that's not always consistent," said Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO
   epidemiologist who called nightclubs "amplifiers of transmission."

   Young people who show mild or no symptoms can spread the virus to
   more-vulnerable older people.

   In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, who tested positive for the
   coronavirus on July 7 and then negative last Saturday, said that after
   20 days indoors he had mold on his lungs. He is being treated with
   antibiotics. He had repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as "a little flu."

   Brazil, as of Thursday evening, had 2.6 million confirmed cases and
   91,263 deaths, according to the [1]Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource
   Center.

   Among the confirmed cases is Brazil's first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro,
   who tested positive on Thursday, according to a statement from the
   presidential palace. Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes also
   said he had tested positive for the virus, making him the fifth cabinet
   minister diagnosed publicly.

   The leader of the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia is warning
   young adults to stop partying or authorities may have to reimpose harsh
   restrictions.

   Britain is reporting its highest number of new COVID cases since late
   June, with officials warning that more quarantines may be necessary.

   British health officials registered 846 new cases Thursday and Minister
   for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said a second wave of the virus
   is rolling across Europe and that Britain must defend against it.

   "It is absolutely vital as a country that we continue to keep our focus
   and our discipline, and that we don't delude ourselves that somehow we
   are out of the woods or that that is all over, because it isn't all
   over," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday.

   British authorities added Luxembourg to the country's quarantine list,
   meaning travelers from there must isolate for 14 days after entering
   Britain. Spain, which had been dropped from the list, has been
   reinstated and other countries may be added.

   Botswana's capital, Gaborone, reimposed a two-week lockdown on Thursday
   after a surge in new confirmed COVID-19 cases. The increase came as the
   WHO warned of easing coronavirus restrictions throughout Africa. The
   WHO says the number of infections on the continent has doubled in the
   past month.

References

   1. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

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