Coronavirus: Three people in their 30s with no pre existing conditions on ventilators

Three people in their 30s with no pre-existing conditions are on ventilators in NSW in what health officials are calling a virus “wake up call”.

Three people in their 30s are on ventilators in intensive care wards in NSW after contracting coronavirus, according to health officials.

The three people are in hospitals around the state, and despite requiring critical ventilator care do not have pre-existing conditions. There are a total of 96 people in intensive care, with 35 of those on ventilators.

Paul Kelly, Deputy Chief Medical Officer said it should serve as a “wake up call” to younger people that coronavirus did not only target the elderly or people with pre-existing conditions.

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Health officials say this should come as a warning to younger Australians. Picture: Supplied

“Those relatively young people (on ventilators) … don't have risk factors, and that is an important point,” Professor Kelly said on Monday.

“This is a disease which mostly is mild, but in some occasions, we have seen and will continue to see people with severe (cases of the) disease.

“Most of those are the more vulnerable people in our society, for example older people, those with chronic illnesses.”

But he warned that cases of relatively young people having severe cases of the virus had been seen around the world “and this is a wake-up call for all of us”.

On Sunday, Dr Jeremy McAnulty from NSW Health warned about the group of three being placed on ventilators, and said others in their 20s were experiencing severe symptoms.

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“The biggest single age group is people in their 20s, we are seeing the largest numbers,” Dr Jeremy McAnulty said.

“And in fact, we have seen also three people who were ventilated in intensive care in their 30s.”

There have been almost 5800 coronavirus cases diagnosed in Australia, and 40 people have died.

—with AAP