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Young people are driving the spread of the coronavirus, WHO warns

The World Health Organization warned young people are spreading the coronavirus pandemic

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
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Visitors crowd the beach in Manhattan Beach, Calif., amid the coronavirus pandemic Saturday. Aug. 15, 2020. The heat wave brought dangerously high temperatures, increased wildfire danger and fears of coronavirus spread as people flock to beaches and parks for relief.

Visitors crowd the beach in Manhattan Beach, Calif., amid the coronavirus pandemic Saturday. Aug. 15, 2020. The heat wave brought dangerously high temperatures, increased wildfire danger and fears of coronavirus spread as people flock to beaches and parks for relief.

John Antczak, Associated Press

The World Health Organization warned this week that young people are driving the spread of the novel coronavirus because they don’t know if they have the virus, CNBC reports.

  • Young people are considered those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to the WHO.

Many young people are considered asymptomatic or have mild symptoms for COVID-19, which means they pass on the virus without knowing they even had it, Takeshi Kasai, WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific said on Tuesday, CNBC reports.

This increases the risk of spillovers to the most vulnerable, the elderly, the sick in long-term care, people who live in densely populated urban areas and underserved rural areas. — Kasai said.
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There have been 6 million cases from Feb. 24 to July 12. The data of those cases showed an increase in cases for children and young people, according to Al Jazeera.

  • Children ages 0 to 4 years old grew 0.3% to 2.2%.
  • Those 5 to 14 jumped from 0.8% to 4.6%
  • Those 15 to 24 jumped 4.5% to 15%.

“While we see differences across regions, we do see a consistent shift towards more younger people being reported among COVID-19 cases,” the WHO told Al Jazeera.