The World Health Organization on Thursday warned African countries that the latest coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of many young people may also affect children.
This statement was made by Hans Kluge, the head of the WHO’s European branch, who told reporters in Copenhagen, Denmark that ‘the very notion that COVID-19 only affects older people is factually wrong.’
He said serious cases have been reported among teenagers and young adults, with some requiring exhaustive care and numerous deaths.
In Europe a 12-year-old girl who died in Belgium is the youngest victim. A six-week-old baby has died from the virus in the US.
According to the WHO, about 10 to 15 per cent of cases reported in people under the age of 50 is a mild to extreme infection.
However, Kluge said, children are not developing as severe an illness from the coronavirus as older people.
“Children simply don’t get very sick when they get this infection,” he said. “So if they develop any symptoms at all, they’re mild … and so, severe illnesses and deaths, fortunately, are incredibly rare.”
Just because children are not as likely or not at all to develop significant symptoms, it doesn’t mean that they won’t get coronavirus.
Kluge said the number of cases in children is likely to be underreported, in part because their symptoms are so minimal or mild, but he cautioned that they may still be able to infect others.
Kluge noted further that, irrespective of age, healthy people are less at risk.
He said in Europe, “there are reports of people over the age of 100 who were admitted to hospital for COVID-19 and have now since made a complete recovery.”
The European branch of the WHO said the 53 countries that make up its area had 464,859 reported cases of COVID-19 and 30.098 deaths.
Some 80% of those who died as a result of the virus had at least one underlying disease, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Kluge advised every age group to adhere to hygiene guidelines as this is the only effective preventive measures that an individual can take against the pandemic.
Kluge said it was of the utmost importance “for every age group” to respect hygiene guidelines.
