With the Memorial weekend in the U.S. and summer-like weather in Canada, we have witnessed hundreds of people gathering in parks and on beaches to celebrate the lowering of restrictions in many outdoor recreational areas. The problem is that they are not adhering to physical distancing measures in many cases. It would appear that the vast majority of the people are young adults who appear to believe that they are less vulnerable to this highly contagious disease. The typical infected person infects nearly three others, according to researchers at Imperial College London, one of the world’s highest rates. The experts also have additional news for you: young adults aren’t completely invulnerable or invincible for that matter. While statistically the biggest concern is still with persons over sixty who have underlying health issues, the evidence has shown that adult males between twenty and fifty can experience serious health issues from COVID-19. Some even have to be hospitalized and can end up on ventilators where the survival rate is very low.
In developing countries with more poverty and fewer resources, younger people who might have survived elsewhere are instead dying. It has been reported that in Brazil, 15 percent of deaths have been people under 50 — a rate more than 10 times greater than in Italy or Spain. In Mexico, the trend is even more stark. Nearly one-fourth of the dead have been between 25 and 49. In India, officials reported this month that nearly half of the dead were younger than 60. For the poor and marginalized groups, health care services are limited if not unavailable. In addition, similar to developed countries, the population is experiencing a surge in the rates of diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Once again, in these countries, treatment for many such illnesses is lacking.
With the reopening of the economy and recreational facilities, young North Americans must understand the risks involved with not adhering to social distancing. Large gatherings of people in close proximity to one another cannot and should not be tolerated or condoned. Such behaviour is disrespectful to both the community and frontline personnel risking their lives every day in the war against COVID-19. We owe it to these brave people to do our fair share by following all the measures that health authorities have mandated and recommended. Unlike in developing countries, we are fortunate to have half decent health care systems. The stringent controls that states, provinces and municipalities put in place appear to be working. However, recent indications in certain states and provinces have shown a surge in the rates of confirmed cases. Failure to respect social distancing more than likely will lead to an increase in cases in the coming weeks, and possibly further COVID-related deaths.
There is no excuse for the selfish and irrational behaviour among young adults witnessed this past weekend. We can only hope that people, especially young adults, will realize this and adjust their behaviour accordingly in the future as even more freedoms are restored. Otherwise, the authorities will have to once again take more draconic measures to counteract such troubling attitudes and the subsequent inappropriate actions. After all, regrettably we are coming up to 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. and 7,000 deaths in Canada by the end of May. Think about it!
FROLITICKS 