“What we are seeing in some countries is that there are individuals in their 30s, who are in their 40s and 50s who are in the ICU and who have died,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases.

“It’s still pretty significant even if you don’t require hospitalization. Moderate disease still includes pneumonia.”

Not all younger victims have underlying health conditions. In Italy, 10 to 15 percent of patients in intensive care are under 50, and in Korea, one in six deaths are of those under the age of 60.