The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that more younger people are falling critically ill with COVID-19 as death toll now exceeds 50,000 worldwide.
There were 'unknowns' about why victims in their 30s to 50s are dying from the virus, said WHO's technical lead
More young people are now dying of COVID-19
Report from Daily Mail said that according to WHO, young people in their 30s, 40s and 50s with no underlying health issues were being admitted to intensive care units (ICU) with the bug and dying.
Nonetheless, experts said that most of the patients who suffers severe symptoms still tend to be the elderly with other health isssues.
In a press conference on April 4 in Geneva, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the emergencies programme of WHO said that one in six deaths in Korea had been patients under the age of 60.
Meanwhile, in Italy, at least 10-15% of COVID-19 patients in ICU were aged under 50.
'It's not that anything has changed. It's that we collectively have been living in a world where we have tried to convince ourselves that this disease is mild and more severe in older people," Dr Ryan said.
'But I think the evidence has been there all along.There is a spectrum of severity,' he added.
Why are young people now dying of coronavirus?
Meanwhile, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the international health body's technical lead, said there remain a lot of 'unknowns' about why young people succummbed to the disease. Dr. Kerhove said that the WHO needs to have 'better' understanding in this regard.
'We are seeing more and more younger individuals who are experiencing severe diseases," she said.
