Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has warned young Queenslanders that they need to take the dangers posed by the coronavirus seriously or risk death.

July 25, 2020

Queensland’s top health officer says she is becoming increasingly concerned about the coronavirus outbreaks in the southern states and young people should be worried too.

Dr Jeannette Young reminded young Queenslanders their age does not makes them immune to COVID-19 and they need to follow social distancing rules or risk death.

“Younger people are feeling that if they get it, they get a mild disease,” the chief health officer said in response to questions about reports of dancing at nightclubs.

“(But) we are starting to see that is not always the case. Young people can die from it.”

Dr Young said young people can also catch a persistent version of the disease that is very hard to shake off.

“We are starting to see people who have cleared the virus – we know that because we test them – but they are having continuing symptoms because this virus attaches to cells throughout the body,” she said.

“Not just the lungs and airways.”

Dr Young said sufferers can develop ongoing renal, lung and heart failure.

“It is not flu. I cannot overemphasise this (enough),” she said.

People recover when they get the flu, she said.

“That is not always the case for this virus. You can get it and not fully recover.”

The warning comes as Queensland reimposed a social distancing rule, banning pub-goers from standing at a bar or high table.

The ruling means patrons must be seated when eating and drinking but can still order from the bar.

The number of people allowed in venues will remain the same.

“People have really got to take this so seriously because we are at a really very difficult stage,” Dr Young said.

“We have seen what’s happened in Victoria and New South Wales. With just a few cases, it’s got out of hand, and they are struggling to variable degrees of success to manage.”