Social distancing, masks, testing and contact tracing apply to everyone regardless of age, with harsh penalties for those who break the rules. People arriving from COVID-19 hotspots are supposed to self-isolate for 14 days, but less than 20 per cent are doing so. Passengers arrive at Heathrow Airport, London. However, anyone infected becomes a transmitter of coronavirus regardless of their age, and that presents a threat to all. Younger people are less likely to die from the virus, and medical facilities are now better able to treat COVID-19 patients.
#ONE CORONAVIRUS TOTAL LOCKDOWN AUSTRALIAS LESSONS PLUS#
On the plus side, the rising number of infections among the young has not been matched by a parallel rise in the COVID-19 mortality rate. In Spain, many teenagers and young adults gather in the piazzas for the evening botellon, drinking and socialising at close quarters. Over the summer holidays popular beach locations along the Mediterranean attracted crowds and social distancing took a holiday. The rise was due to younger people ignoring social distancing measures according to UK health minister Matt Hancock. That statistic is mirrored in Ireland, Germany, Spain, the UK and France, which has recorded a 44 per cent rise in the number of infections among those under 14. In Spain in late March the average age of COVID-19 cases was 59. The surge in Europe's infection numbers is largely being driven by younger people with the rate increasing most rapidly in the 15-44 age group. Infections spread in the home are believed to be responsible for around 50 per cent of cases. Government officials have pointed the finger at the country's youth who have been partying, socialising, celebrating with friends and families and disregarding rules around social distancing. With infection rates higher than France, the UK and every other European country, coronavirus tests have indicated positive for almost one in 10 of those tested. On September 8, Spain notched up a new milestone when it became the first European country to record more than half a million coronavirus cases. Because the answers to these questions should help shape our own behaviour as summer approaches.
That doesn't mean we should all stay on the couch, but we need to look at what Europe has done wrong this summer – and what it has done right. Travellers bear much of the blame for the soaring number of infections in Europe. Spain became the first European country to pass 500,000 COVID-19 cases earlier this month. Protesters demonstrate agains lockdown measures in Madrid, Spain. Authorities breathed a sigh of relief, lockdown rules were relaxed, people travelled to their favourite summer holiday spots – and the number of coronavirus infections skyrocketed. In June, Europe was on a trajectory to have coronavirus under control. Munich's Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, has been canned this year. Travellers returning to the UK from a holiday in France or Spain must self-quarantine for two weeks. In England pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues must now close at 10pm as the coronavirus alert is raised to its second-highest level. In Spain, troops have been deployed to enforce a tough new coronavirus lockdown in parts of Madrid.
People crowd Brighton Beach in England this northern summer, showing scant regard for social distancing rules.
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