Doctor Stevanovic: We lost a healthy 26-year-old, I'm extremely worried about what's coming

Doctor Goran Stevanovic / Printscreen: RTS

A young man born in 1994 died (from coronavirus) without having any previous chronic diseases. These are terrible things, but I still see every day in Vozdovac where I live that young people gather in buildings, ride in elevators in groups, next to each other, no one's wearing masks," said the director of the Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases of the Clinical Center of Serbia, Doctor Goran Stevanovic.

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He told Objektiv that he is extremely worried about the period that is ahead of us.

Most of the problems have to do precisely with young people who are not paying attention to protective measures and think that the virus has nothing to do with them.

"Older people have understood the message and because of that there are fewer and fewer problems with them. They take care of themselves, unlike their younger family members, who have been getting the virus for days now because of that. After the Infectious Diseases Clinic has filled up with patients with severe symptoms of Covid-19 who are of that age, it's high time for children and young people to seriously understand what danger this poses to them," says the director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic.

Asked should young people have been warned more from the beginning, instead of saying that they are usually just transmitters without symptoms, Doctor Stevanovic replied that this has been tried several times, but that young people often have "selective hearing" for such things.

"It was known from the beginning, not everyone will end up in the hospital, but some of them certainly will. Some young man or woman will not feel anything, but their family will. Isn't that a sufficient reason for them to finally respect all measures more, keep their distance and wear masks?," Doctor Goran Stevanovic wonders.

Altered virus strain more dangerous for young people?

Asked if this is the same virus that we had in March and April, how much it has changed and if it has mutated, he says that this cannot be discussed at the moment, before studies have been done that would confirm it.

"It seems to some that it has weakened, to others that it's never been stronger. There is no evidence for either. To claim that Covid-19 has now strengthened, we would have to do a long-term study that would include genetic and laboratory tests, along with many other studies. Until we do that, everything is at the level of subjective impression and speculation," says Doctor Stevanovic.

If the Covid-19 virus in Serbia has not been changed, we asked Dr. Stevanovic what changed when it comes to the patients at the Infectious Diseases Clinic, compared to April.

"The main difference is that there are now many more infected people, and thus significantly more people with a severe clinical picture. When you have 10 infected people in the whole of Serbia, one will have severe symptoms. If you have 15,000 or 20,000, calculate for yourself how many will be fit for hospitalization. Therefore, at this moment, the situation is more alarming compared to April," explained Doctor Stevanovic.

(Telegraf.rs)