Young people with no underlying conditions and seemingly healthy constitutions are now appearing in COVID-19 death statistics with increasing frequency.
A 16-year-old with no known underlying health conditions died from COVID-19 days after figures showed a 13-year-old without known underlying conditions had died. The deaths all occurred last month but illustrate that young people are just as susceptible to death from COVID-19, especially as the deadly Brazilian and South African strains are now spreading across Britain.
Naturally, the opening of schools will be a great conduit for Coronavirus to spread further into population centres especially with the increased footfall. Even though there is now a program of lateral-flow testing in most schools, this is a lagging indicator, and only addresses the problem after the infection has taken place. For some, this could mean a definite death sentence.
It will take a few weeks or months for what is happening today to be apparent in governmental statistics, but the massive jump of cases in Europe should also be another consideration. The borders are still open from the Continent into the UK with little or no checks, as infected people come through the ferry ports and through the Eurotunnel.
The Brazilian COVID-19 P.1. Strain is a particularly nasty piece of work, and is currently causing mayhem in the region it came from. It can spread far more easily and vaccinations may not be as effective, although further research is ongoing.
The British Kent COVID-19 B.1.1.7. Strain also spreads with more ease than previous mutations, as does the South African B.1.351 Strain, each of these variants have differing characteristics that affect the recipient in multiple ways, depending on the general health, genetic makeup of the person infected.
Scientists have also discovered another mystery B1.525 Strain which is similar to the Kent variation including the E484K mutation, but its origins are unknown as yet.
As schools, shops and restaurants etc all open their doors again, it is guaranteed that infections and deaths will increase once again exponentially.
