Virus Cases Surge Among the Young, Endangering Older Adults

Coronavirus cases are soaring among young adults in states where bars, stores, and restaurants have reopened, which jeopardizes the health of older people they come in contact with, reports the Associated Press . Houston Methodist Hospital's Rob Phillips said younger people with COVID-19 are sick, but not sick enough to require intensive care; yet this is a troubling trend because young people "definitely interact with their parents and grandparents." In late March and April, the highest positive testing rates were in people over 65, but for the past month about 7 percent of tests on 18- to 49-year-olds nationwide have been positive — an approximately 2 percent gain over older age brackets. People aged 15 to 34 now make up 31 percent of all virus cases in Florida, up from 25 percent in early June. Last week, over 8,000 new cases were reported in that age group, versus roughly 2,000 among people 55 to 64. Although older adults were more likely to be diagnosed with the virus in past months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that almost as soon as states started reopening, the 18-to-49 demographic quickly became the age bracket most likely to test positive.