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Anybody who has had to venture outside for work or essentials over the past week will have been struck by groups teenagers gathering in clusters, all over the north west, as if nothing has changed at a time when everything has changed.

Some teenagers think they are invincible. Most of us did at that age, only to grow up, glance back and find out we were actually really vulnerable and impressionable back then.

There is a myth that coronavirus doesn’t affect the young, that it is only really severe in older people. But we are already seeing more and more young people in Italy and other countries now getting seriously ill. The demographics are shifting, and the virus is now putting more young people in intensive care.

Already dozens of youths across Ireland have tested positive for this potentially lethal virus. Thousands more could have it in their system without knowing it - yet.

But young people won’t listen to me, and many of them won’t heed the warnings of their parents, grandparents or some professor. They may listen to their friends and siblings though.

I’m sure there are many, many young people out there who are staying at home, having fully grasped the magnitude of the horror that has befallen the world, and which is now spreading its tendrils over Ireland. Those young people can be the heroes of their generation’s darkest hour by making it their mission to get through to their mates and classmates, brothers, sisters and cousins.

Teenagers have a lot to contend with - school, growing up, trying to find where you fit in the world and among your peers. The pressure to do what your mates are doing can be extreme and irresistible. But those same mates will respect you a lot more in the long run for standing up to them now and telling it straight: Close contact with anyone who has the virus means you’ll probably get it. You’ll probably bring it home. There are many, many young people who have wee brothers and sisters with asthma, parents on medication, grandparent with a health condition.

Hopfeully the message will get through to all young people and they will do the right thing.

EDITORIAL: Young people key to getting through to their peers