Dire warning to young Australians who think they're immune to coronavirus – as top doctor reveals exactly what we need to do for Australia to get back to normal before Christmas
- Expert warns that young Australians aren't 'immune', 'invincible' to COVID-19
- Dr Sanjaya Senanayake tells 3AW Breakfast it is essential Australians follow rules
- He says in US 18- to 49-year-olds outnumber those over 50 in hospitals with virus
- His comments follow young Australian doctor being place in intensive care unit
- They also follow US figures spiking in June after bars, stores, churches reopen
Young Australians have been warned they are not 'invincible' to the coronavirus after Victoria battles a deadly second wave and a 32-year-old Melbourne doctor tests positive.
Infectious diseases experts say the doctor, who joins a growing number of patients in intensive care, is 'not an isolated case' and millennials should be prepared to follow the rules.
Dr Sanjaya Senanayake, of Yarralumla, in the Australian Capital Territory, told 3AW Breakfast: 'We're worried in particular about young people not complying because they think they're invincible and immune to this.
'Young people can get sick'.
Young Australians have been warned they are not 'invincible' to the coronavirus after Victoria battles a deadly second wave and a 32-year-old Melbourne doctor tests positive. Pictured: Crowds at an NRL match at the Sunshine Coast at Sunday
Dr Sanjaya Senanayake, of Yarralumla, in the Australian Capital Territory, told 3AW Breakfast: 'We're worried in particular about young people not complying because they think they're invincible and immune to this. Pictured: Police arresting anti-masker protesters in Melbourne
The warning comes as Victoria is set to record another 429 new cases and 13 deaths from COVID-19 despite the state's strict Level 4 style lockdown and 8pm curfew.
Melbourne is under a police enforceable curfew of 8pm until 5am until at least September 13 - as the rest of Australia returns to business as usual.
Locals can only leave their homes between these hours for work, care-giving, medical reasons or on compassionate grounds.
Dr Senanayake said young people in Australia should look to the US as an example, as the number of 18 to 49-year-olds testing positive to COVID-19 outnumbers those over 50 in hospitals.
Infectious diseases physician Dr Sanjaya Senanayake (pictured) said young adults had just as much chance at ending up in hospital as those aged over 50
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He went on to say that it was essential for Australians to wear masks to slow the spread, especially of they wanted a 'normal' Christmas.
'People have to comply with restrictions,' he told 3AW Breakfast on Monday.
'There is evidence mask wearing is useful in reducing community transmission of this virus, so if everyone in areas of high community transmission wears a mask that will help.'
People aged 15 to 34 years made up 31 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Florida in June - up from 25 percent earlier in the month.
Across the US, numbers rapidly climbed in states where bars, stores and restaurants reopened.
Dr Senanayake's comments followed numbers rapidly climbing among young adults in the states in June, where bars, stores and restaurants reopened after lockdown. Pictured: Melburnians in the lead up to the new COVID-19 rules on Sunday
Summer fraternity parties sparked outbreaks in Oxford, Mississippi; church activities, weddings and fitness classes seeded infections among those in their 20s to 40s in Oklahomoa City; and an outbreak tied to a brew pub spread to 34 people aged 18 to 23 years in East Lansing, Michigan.
More than 4,600,500 people have been infected with COVID-19 in the US, and more than 154,000 have died.
Infectious diseases physician Dr Sanjaya Senanayake warned they are not 'invincible' or 'immune' to the coronavirus after a doctor in his 30s was placed in intensive care with the virus. Pictured: A body being removed from St Basil's Homes for the Aged at Fawkner in Melbourne on Sunday
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