Young people who are infected with the coronavirus but have little or no symptoms are principally responsible for the spread of the virus in Asia.
So says Takeshi Kasai, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Pacific region.
According to Kasai, these are people who do not know that they have the virus because they have little or no complaints.
As an outcome, they spread the virus without realizing it. “This upsurges the risk of contamination of the vulnerable people in society, the elderly and the sick.”
Despite the number of unconscious infections, the health organization sees an essential change in behaviour. “A lot of people keep their distance, wear face masks and keep their hands clean,” said Kasai.
In several countries in this area, such as Japan, Australia and the Philippines, most infections have been diagnosed in people under the age of 40. Many of these countries are in a new phase of the pandemic, Kasai says.
“Governments are developing a new strategy to disrupt daily life as little as possible and to introduce more targeted lockdowns and measures where necessary.”
Kasai understands that people find it challenging to live with all the measures, but he stresses the need for it. “We know it’s not easy to keep this up, but the behavioural change is necessary to keep protecting people.”