WINNIPEG -- Public health officials are trying to drive home the message that no matter how old you are, COVID-19 can lead to severe illness.
It’s a message Canada’s chief public health officer has been emphasizing throughout the pandemic. Sunday night, Dr. Theresa Tam shared a message on Twitter about people under 40.
“Case reports tell us ~9-12% of hospitalized COVID-19 cases involve people under 40 years of age,” Tam tweeted. “This highlights that younger people also develop illness severe enough to require hospitalization.”
Of those hospitalizations, it’s not known how many people hospitalized had underlying medical conditions.
Still, it’s a message Manitoba’s top public health official said Sunday is an important one to help flatten the curve.
“We know that the highest risk individuals are those with underlying medical conditions, as well as those over age 65 but we have seen severe outcomes in younger individuals as well,” said chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin. “It doesn’t matter what your age is because even if you do not have a severe outcome, by not practicing physical distancing, you could pass this on to someone who will sustain a severe outcome.”
In Manitoba, provincial data last updated Monday morning breaks down the age and gender of people with confirmed cases of COVID-19. The data shows the highest number of cases so far are in women between the ages of 20 and 29, followed by men between 60 and 69. The severity of cases in each age group isn’t listed and people’s medical histories aren’t made public.
Source: Manitoba government
Rhea Nelken, 36, said people she knows around the same age seem to be getting the message.
“The people that I know are, definitely,” said Nelken, who was practicing physical distancing while out for a walk. “I think a lot of us, I don’t, have children and elder parents to consider and I think a lot of people know if they can do their part, that we can flatten the curve and hopefully diminish the number of cases, eventually.”
Nelken feels people started taking the pandemic more seriously when the number of cases in the province increased.
Currently, four people are hospitalized but their ages weren’t immediately available.
One person in Manitoba, a woman in her 60s, has died due to COVID-19.
