Dr. Mehmet Oz said Thursday that people “became careless” with some of their COVID-19 precautions and warned that “the virus is not yet done with us.”
“We have a group of people who are rebellious, frustrated, have been locked up for a long time, especially young people, and we have become careless as you see,” Oz told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday.
He went on to say that “we want to return to a new normal,” but “the virus is not yet done with us, so we have to keep fighting.”
He explained that “this is especially a problem among our youth.”
Oz said the average age of infection is “around 35, half of what it was at the beginning of the pandemic,” which he says shows that “vulnerable people, overweight, hypertensive, diabetic people. or older people stay away from the opening process. ”
“But younger people, because they are frustrated, they get together, they are going to meet new people and we cannot afford to let our guard down right now because reversing the trend becomes much more difficult once the virus is widely present,” he continued.
US CORONAVIRUS DEATHS PROJECTED TO REACH 180,000 IN OCTOBER
Oz made the comments as several states, including Florida and Arizona, are experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases.
Public health experts said the increase in Arizona reflects the state’s rapid reopening. Last Wednesday, COVID-19 cases per day rose to more than 3,000, the largest daily increase since the pandemic began in the U.S., according to data from the Arizona Department of Health.
This week, Florida saw a record number of coronavirus cases, according to the state Department of Health. As of Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reports more than 109,000 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.
Speaking from New York, Oz said Florida hospitals are “starting to fill up.”
He noted that intensive care units in Arizona have “more than 80 percent capacity” and those in Florida are “filling up.” He added that Texas is also “having trouble.”
“So let’s step in now before exponential growth gets out of control,” said Oz.
He noted that although the number of cases “is increasing dramatically, we are still not seeing a significant increase in deaths.”
He said “that could be because we haven’t gotten far enough or it could be because they are mainly younger people and they know they are not that vulnerable.”
Oz went on to say that since the virus “tends to spread quickly,” it is important to wear a mask when you are out in public because it will prevent people from “getting what you have.”
“Obviously, if you can stay out, it would be great, in particular, to avoid the events of super spreaders, big crowds,” Oz said, adding that following what is called the “6/15 rule” is important. Oz explained that it means being “six feet away from people or staying less than 15 minutes if you are closer to that.”
He emphasized that “no one is immune”.
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“Don’t reach out to other people in large groups or you will give people you love,” Oz said.
Kayla Rivas and Ann Schmidt of Fox News contributed to this report.
