With the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the young population has been urged to exercise extra caution, and epidemiologists are saying that this group accounts for the highest number of positive cases.

Speaking to The New Times, Angela Umutoni the Director of Avian Influenza & other Highly Pathogenic Diseases Unit in Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) said that people under 40 are the most carriers of the virus according to statistics.

She cited the nature of activities of people in this demographic group engage in but stressed that generally, they are the most complacent in terms of enforcing measures to contain the virus.

"Currently, 66 per cent cases registered are of people under 40 years and out of these, 40 per cent are under 30yrs, this means that there’s high likelihood for this specific group to transmit the virus more than others,” Umutoni said.

She said that much of the laxity among the young people is largely attributed to the assumption that the virus mainly affects the elderly, which she said is not true given the epidemiological trends seen over the past 15 months.

Similar sentiments had been echoed in an earlier interview with Dr Menelas Nkeshimana from the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) who said that in the initial days of the Covid outbreak, reports described it as "a disease mainly affecting the elderly population and those with underlying health complications.”  

"But as our knowledge about this disease increased, we quickly realised that everyone was and is at risk, including the younger population. Through exchanges with our colleagues from the USA, we came across a series of cases of very young people with severe Covid-19, requiring Intensive Care Unit admission,” he noted.

According to Umutoni, although they are less likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid-19, people in their 20s and 30s easily catch the virus and develop severe as well as long-lasting symptoms, particularly if they live with obesity, diabetes, hypertension or any other comorbidities.

"You really can’t say that the youth are safe. It depends on one’s immunity; the science hasn’t changed much in terms of who’s being affected, we are still getting an increased number (mainly from the same category of people i.e. 20-39 year olds). The transmission patterns in this group might be explained by social interactions, occupations, feeling like the issue does not concern them,” says Umutoni.

What does this mean?

Available statistics show that youth under the age of 30 years account for 3.1 per cent of Covid-19 deaths in Rwanda.

Umutoni said that although the youth are perceived to have low severity of disease outcome, there are concerns that they might transmit the virus to those that are most at risk.

"Having a sense of responsibility and adhering to Covid-19 preventive measures is therefore critical in not only protecting themselves but also protecting the broader community including the vulnerable ones,” Umutoni notes.

How should we behave as a community?

By adhering to public health measures, wearing masks, maintaining social distance and hand hygiene will amplify personal responsibility and responsibility to protect others.

Umutoni said that other measures that can be taken include developing tailored messages on prevention of virus specifically targeting the youth, which can be disseminated in areas where they meet most, especially schools.

Advice from the youth

According to the youth who spoke to The New Times, there has been general laxity among the youth, mainly driven by the misconceptions that they were not affected, which many attribute the recent spike in cases across the country.

Jean Baptiste Ishimwe, a student at the University of Rwanda is concerned about spike in cases and, he says that at a personal level, he tries his best to follow guidelines to protect himself and those around him.

"However, many of my peers do not seem to comprehend the fact that there is a virus in our midst and which is currently on rampage; globally millions have died and it also knocking on our doors; at the moment you will hardly find a family that has not lost some one or at least had a patient,” he said.

On the other hand, members of the Rwanda Youth Volunteers in Community Policing (RYVCP), who have been deployed to help in the enforcement of the Covid-19 guidelines, said that they always find a hard time convincing their peers to adhere to these guidelines.

 "The youth shouldn’t be reckless, and add up to the burden especially during this tough situation that our country is facing due the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead they should take the responsibility in mobilizing and raising awareness to the rest of the citizens to respect and follow the Covid-19 prevention guidelines,” says Yassina Stella Igihozo, a volunteer from Nyarugenge District.