Aug 2, 2020 - Health

Young people drive rise in coronavirus cases in Europe

Fadel Allassan

People at a rave. — People attend a rave in boats in Berlin's Kreuzberg district on May 31. Photo: David Gannon/AFP

A sudden surge in new cases in parts of Europe is jeopardizing the continent's progress in containing the coronavirus, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The big picture: Young people are going to bars and ignoring social-distancing rules, as authorities decry what they view as a lack of concern for older generations to whom the virus poses more risk, WSJ writes.

What's happening: Health authorities said the incidence rate for the coronavirus in France between July 20 and 25 for people age 20–29 was at 19.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 9.7 per 100,000 for the population as a whole.

The median age for new infections in Italy dropped to around 40 over the past month, compared to over 60 during the lockdown in April.
People ages 15–29 made up more than 27% of Spain's cases in July, compared to 6% at the end of March.

The bottom line: The uptick among young people catching the virus has lead to an overall spike in the number of new cases in some countries.

Germany has been recording around 900 new cases daily since last week, compared to its average of about 300 in April.
France has reported more than 1,000 daily cases, while Spain reports more than 2,000 new cases a day.

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Young people drive rise in coronavirus cases in Europe

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