BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Health officials are telling younger generations they are not immune from COVID-19, and that the virus can spread from asymptomatic people to those at a higher risk.
According to the latest information released on Friday by the state Department of Public Health, more than half Massachusetts coronavirus cases are people under the age of 50.
While most people who have died so far from the virus in Massachusetts were aged 60 and older with underlying health conditions, the state DPH reports nearly 54 percent of all people who have tested positive for the virus are age 49 or younger.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reiterated last week that "severe illness leading to hospitalization, including ICU admission and death, can occur in adults of any age with COVID-19."
Earlier this week in an online news briefing, the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also urged younger people to take more precautions. “I have a message for young people: You are not invincible, this virus could put you in the hospital for weeks, or even kill you."
On Friday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh again pressed for the city's residents who are going out and playing sports to stay home during the pandemic. "It's not about you," Mayor Walsh said. "This is about your neighbors, your family, and friends."
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