Recently, the world has been put on a temporary shutdown. Major cities have turned into a ghost town, and most of the population is in self-quarantine, or at least avoiding public places in their area. While the disease has proven to be risky for older individuals, younger people aren’t taking it seriously, and that needs to change.
You may have seen a few videos of Spring Breakers acting recklessly, putting their own health and anyone near them at risk. Recently, information came to light that young people are also at serious risk if they contract the disease – this epidemic isn’t a joke, and here’s the biggest reasons why.
1. Because you could be at risk too, even if you think you’re invincible. Approximately 40% of patients who were hospitalized were aged 20 to 54, which busts all the stigma of this disease. This statistic was recently released in a CDC report.
2. Because the longer people keep going out and about like nothing is wrong, the longer this virus lasts and causes unnecessary death and serious illness for potentially millions of people.
3. Even if we’re young and healthy, the disease can cause permanent lung or organ damage. This means that anyone who smokes cigarettes or doesn’t have ideal lung health is at risk.
4. Because even if you don’t have any symptoms, you could be a carrier and spread the disease to your loved ones, or something with a serious condition, causing a terrible outcome.
5. Symptoms might appear to be a regular common cold or flu, but the chances of it being COVID-19 have drastically increased over time.
6. The more people ignore things and go out to bars or socialize in large groups, the most this thing has a chance of growing, mutating, and taking over the world like more serious plagues and epidemic we’ve seen in the past.
7. The more beds that infected but allover healthier young people taking up hospital beds means that there’s less beds for those who the disease proves more life-threatening to.
8. While the first wave of this disease is probably the most threatening, when cold weather comes around after summer is over, we may be at risk of contracting again, since COVID-19 thrives in cold environments.
9. Because even if you don’t think you have it, days can go by before the symptoms start showing up. Due to this incubation period, more and more people might keep feeling sicker as time goes on.
10. Why is it no joke? Just take a look at Italy. Even though the reports from South Korea and China showed mostly older people and was in Asia, the epidemic in Italy reached heights that no one thought it would, for demographics of all ages. The lack of borders in Europe made this spread like wildfire, and there’s no reason it won’t continue if we don’t change our behaviour.
11. If you have any sort of underlying health condition, such as diabetes or a heart issue, as a young person, you’re just as much at risk to contract coronavirus as older patients.
12. To anyone saying “If I get Corona I get Corona,” look at these stats. Anyone aged 20-44 comprised 12% of ICU cases. Up to 27% of cases were deathly for people over 85. For anyone aged 75-84, 31% of cases led to ICU, and 11% of those were fatal. For those age 65-74, up to 19% were admitted to the ICU, and 5% were fatal. These numbers are growing exponentially.
13. Because the attitude of “I’m young and not vulnerable” is the most debilitating one so far that is wrecking our chances of surviving through this mess without unnecessary fatalities.
14. Because the longer that this goes on, regardless of health consequences, our economy, businesses and the stock market will all reach lows. Right now, world leaders are doing everything they can to support their citizens and small businesses, but it can only be sustained up to a certain amount of time.
15. Because there are tons of people walking around and still traveling, or not telling others about their recent travel history.
16. Because the more this virus continues, anyone touched by COVID-19 will be forced to isolate and miss even more school or work. A lot of livelihoods are being threatened already.
17. If we keep doing nothing about it, both young and old, children will have to go on even longer without school. Many children in the United States rely on a school lunch due to income issues with their parents, and there will only one more of these income issues if things go on as they are.