The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the whole world and as governments do their level best to control and contain the spread of the infection, often through the imposition of lockdowns and restrictions on movement, many people around the globe have been expressing their boredom and fatigue with being confined indoors.
It is in this context that the World Health Organisation went ahead and issued a warning to young people around the world to become more cautious and not cease being cautious just because they are bored amid the pandemic. Many young people have reportedly been gong out to celebrate festive occasions or simply to enjoy the summer months and this has been responsible for a rapid rise in cases across the world.
The WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that one of the biggest challenges before the organisation and before nation states across the world is to ensure that young people understand the seriousness of the pandemic and do not risk their lives by venturing outdoors casually.
The WHO has repeatedly been warning that even though we might believe that children and senior citizens are the ones who are vulnerable, the reality is that even young people are not invincible. The point that was underlined was that not only can young people be infected by coronavirus but the truth is that they can also infect others and lose their own lives to the disease.
That is why there is an urgent need for young people to be careful and make sure that they take the same precautions that everyone else is taking amidst the pandemic. The director general also made an interesting observation and said that the recent rise in cases was caused by young people and this was proof enough of the fact that younger people too must be careful and responsible as we collectively face the pandemic. Even while it may be true that most young people are likely to be infected by the milder form of the disease, this doesn’t relive them of the responsibilities that they hold towards others and themselves and must stay indoors, abide by protocols and not risk their own lives and that of others.
