When the number of COVID-19 cases peaked in Connecticut in April, the highest number of reported cases was among 50 to 59 year old’s, but as cases continue to climb cases among 20 to 29 year old’s are piling up much faster.
“The kids are social that’s what they’re supposed to do at this age so it’s very hard even for college kids. They want to congregate. This is their occupation,” Michael Urban, director of the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of New Haven says.
Urban says younger people have been largely asymptomatic and they’re not getting the message.
“Kids at a young age from college down, their job if you want to think about it that way is to play, is to engage with their peers,” Urban says.
The state of Connecticut’s COVID numbers show that the biggest age bracket for infections these days are 20 to 29 year olds. In April when the state was at its peak for COVID cases 0 to 39 year olds accounted for 27% of the cases and now they account for more than 46% of the cases.
“It’s pretty hard to compare what the numbers are from the Spring to what is going on now,” Lynn Sosa, deputy state epidemiologist, says.
Sosa says there was much less testing in the Spring.
“That fact that we’re seeing more cases among young people is not something special to Connecticut,” Sosa says. “We’re seeing that across the country and I think people are familiar with the many stories about the different behaviors that might be contributing to that among younger people.”
Gov. Ned Lamont says it’s those informal social interactions.
“I can do so much by mandate, but the other 90% is how you handle yourselves and your families in your community,” Lamont said.
Dr. Manisha Juthani said a lot of people have gotten tired of the virus and they think they know a lot of people that haven’t gotten that sick.
“But the reality is we have people who have been long-haulers who have symptoms that last many, many months. Having no sense of taste or smell is not pleasant and let me tell you what really hits home for the many families I’ve seen is when your mother, grandmother, grandfather is infected by this illness,” Juthani said.
