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Man dies after attending 'Covid-19 party' hosted by infected person

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NEW YORK: A 30-year-old man from Texas died from the coronavirus after attending a "Covid-19 party" hosted by an infected person, a doctor has revealed, underlining the risk to younger people.

Dr Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, said the man thought the virus was a hoax, despite it killing more than 135,000 people in the US so far.

"Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they'll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease," Dr Appleby said in a video broadcast by US media on Sunday.

"One of the things that was heart-wrenching that he said to his nurse was: 'You know, I think I made a mistake'.

"He thought the disease was a hoax. He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn't get affected by the disease."

Dr Appleby said young patients often do not realise how sick they are.

"They don't look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they're really sicker than they appear," she said, calling on people to take the risks seriously.

The US on Sunday recorded 59,747 new cases over the last 24-hour period, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of cases in the US has rocketed in recent weeks, hitting a record of 66,528 in 24 hours on Saturday.

The country has now registered a total of 3,301,820 infections, the Baltimore-based university said.

The death toll stood at 135,171 with 442 additional deaths counted.

President Donald Trump's administration on Sunday again pressed for full school reopenings despite the surge in infections.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Trump of "messing with" children's health.

The Democratic House of Representatives leader said the federal government should make the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for reopening schools mandatory, like some state governors have done with anti-coronavirus measures.

"Going back to school presents the biggest risk for the spread of the coronavirus. If there are CDC guidelines, they should be requirements," said Pelosi, in a CNN interview. "They should be mandates, not requirements." - AFP, REUTERS

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