Millennials warned: Start taking contagion seriously
YOUNGSTERS must start taking coronavirus more seriously and stop flouting advice, top scientists warned last night.
The UK Government’s chief advisers – Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance – said Britons in their 20s and 30s risk prolonging the crisis if they continue to ignore official requests to stop socialising.
Although they are at lower risk than the elderly, they can still carry the virus and pass it on to the vulnerable. Yet students in some parts of the country are holding ‘coronavirus parties’ and teenagers are organising ‘end of school’ celebrations.
Meanwhile, pubs and cafes in some areas have remained busy despite warnings to stay away.
Sir Patrick, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, said every age group must follow social distancing advice. He insisted: ‘Unless everybody looks at the measures that have been introduced by the Government on trying to encourage social distancing...it doesn’t have the effect.
‘What we absolutely shouldn’t encourage is the idea that young people somehow can ignore it because they are going to be fine.
The mixing in pubs and restaurants ...that is part of allowing the disease to spread needs to stop.’
While universities have cancelled all lectures, students are continuing to pack into pubs. In Newcastle, hundreds of students were filmed packing into rammed bars to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on Tuesday – 24 hours after Boris Johnson told everyone to avoid all pubs.
In London people are organising ‘coronavirus parties’ in a misguided bid to catch the virus so they become immune. Professor Whitty, chief medical officer, cited cases of young virus patients in intensive care around the world.