The majority of those affected by the coronavirus are elderly and people with chronic illnesses but young, healthy people, and severely.
VG reported on Thursday that 11 patients under the age of 50 are undergoing intensive treatment because of the Coronavirus at Norwegian hospitals. Two of the patients are under 24 years of age.
Dag Jacobsen, the head of the medical intensive care unit at Ullevål Hospital, thinks new data from the US, Denmark and the Norwegian intensive care unit on hospitalized patients are disturbing, writes Aftenposten.
“What’s new is that even younger, healthy people get the disease and in its serious form. So, they need help from the respirator. It is still the case that the elderly and those with chronic illnesses are the majority. But now we see that young and healthy are being hit unexpectedly,” Jacobsen told the newspaper.
“We must get this information out and make known to the population so that the young people also understand that they must take their precautions. They have so far lived in a kind of sanctuary, but it must end there,” he added.
No separate measures
Jacobsen expects the health authorities to issue more stringent advice to young people in the population but the Directorate of Health will not introduce special measures for the youth. Deputy Health Director Espen Nakstad justified that we already know a lot about those who have fallen ill.
“Many of the sick are infected in Northern Italy and Austria. All age groups can be infected with this, and we have always known that adolescents and young adults can also get sick. But there is no doubt that they can withstand the disease better than the elders,“ Nakstad told Aftenposten.
“Not invincible”
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the world’s young people against believing that the Coronavirus is only affecting the elderly.
“You are not invincible. This virus can send you to hospital for weeks and even kill you,” warned WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The pandemic requires not only cross-border cooperation, but also intergenerational cooperation, emphasized Tedros, who also thanked young people who protect the elderly by taking precautions.
“I am grateful that so many young people spread the word and not the virus,” said the WHO chief.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
Percentage-wise, 2 victims are not major (except for them, of course), but if this thing mutates to target young adults – the 1918 flu targeted them – and young student nurses are being drafted to go into the hospitals ….
Britain is trying to get retired health personnel – who are more vulnerable age-wise – to go into the hospitals, and that might at least save many young.
Still nothing from the government about how *everyone* should be wearing even homemade facemasks, I see.
is it possible that the two young people infected—have been away for some time from Norway prior to infection ..and have a compromised acquired immunity ?
Is it possible that a common seasonal infection has acted as a ‘host’to their Corona virus infection ?
There has to be a contributory factor
I WISH THEM THE VERY BEST FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY.