US man, 30, dies from coronavirus after attending 'COVID-19 party'
13 Jul 2020 01:26PM
World
A member of the medical staff comforts a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on Jul 2, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (File photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Go Nakamura)
(Updated: 13 Jul 2020 01:30PM)
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NEW YORK: A 30-year-old man from Texas died from the novel coronavirus after attending a "COVID-19" party hosted by an infected person, a doctor has revealed, underlining the risk to younger people.
Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, said the man thought the virus was a hoax, despite it killing more than 135,000 people in the United States so far.
READ: US CDC reports coronavirus cases rise by 62,918 to 3.2 million total
"Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they'll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease," Appleby said in a video broadcast by US media on Sunday.
"One of the things that was heart-wrenching that he said to his nurse was, 'You know, I think I made a mistake.'
"He thought the disease was a hoax. He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn't get affected by the disease."
COVID-19: Pelosi says Trump 'messing with' children's health on school reopenings
Appleby said young patients often do not realise how sick they are.
"They don't look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they're really sicker than they appear," she said, calling on people to take the risks seriously.
The Trump administration on Sunday again pressed for full school reopenings in the fall, even as resurgent coronavirus infections - many of them blamed on younger people - and a record spike in cases in Florida raise further questions about the country's efforts to quell the disease.
The United States has by far the world's highest caseload and number of deaths.
13 Jul 2020 01:26PM
World
A member of the medical staff comforts a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on Jul 2, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (File photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Go Nakamura)
(Updated: 13 Jul 2020 01:30PM)
Bookmark
NEW YORK: A 30-year-old man from Texas died from the novel coronavirus after attending a "COVID-19" party hosted by an infected person, a doctor has revealed, underlining the risk to younger people.
Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, said the man thought the virus was a hoax, despite it killing more than 135,000 people in the United States so far.
READ: US CDC reports coronavirus cases rise by 62,918 to 3.2 million total
"Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they'll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease," Appleby said in a video broadcast by US media on Sunday.
"One of the things that was heart-wrenching that he said to his nurse was, 'You know, I think I made a mistake.'
"He thought the disease was a hoax. He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn't get affected by the disease."
COVID-19: Pelosi says Trump 'messing with' children's health on school reopenings
Appleby said young patients often do not realise how sick they are.
"They don't look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they're really sicker than they appear," she said, calling on people to take the risks seriously.
The Trump administration on Sunday again pressed for full school reopenings in the fall, even as resurgent coronavirus infections - many of them blamed on younger people - and a record spike in cases in Florida raise further questions about the country's efforts to quell the disease.
The United States has by far the world's highest caseload and number of deaths.
