Any kind of discussion these days tends to devolve into the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, especially after a number of people in Ethiopia tested positive.

The case was no different when I met a group of young people two weeks ago for work reasons. Although it was my first time meeting them, I greeted them from a distance and sat next to them at the same round table. They joked around with the way I greeted them and continued telling me that, as a young person, I am immune to the virus.

The young people are working in different high-level positions, including as lecturers at Addis Abeba University (AAU). The more I listened to them the more dazed I became at how misinformed they were.

These men and women started speaking about how we young people are immune from COVID-19 and that it is the illness of senior citizens. Their delusion did not stop there. They said resources needed to be left for young people as senior citizens have lived their lives and used ample resources already.

I was terrified of their poor understanding of what the disease actually represents and its consequences to our socioeconomic situation. Several minutes into our debate, these people, who consider themselves well-educated, immune from the virus and solely entitled to the resources of the country, began to suggest possible cures. Despite successive insistence to the contrary, they believed that garlic, onion and traditional plant-based supplements are defence mechanisms against the virus.

Unfortunately, the young people I recently met are not alone. Even with educated people, rumours and superstitions hold sway. Although they have key, influential positions in society, they seem to struggle to acquire the skills needed for the positions they hold. They have memorised enough details to help qualify them for a certain job, but they have kept themselves free of logic and reason.

It takes moral and upstanding citizens to assume responsibility. As part of the public, young people should instead strive to make informed, rational decisions on a daily basis without feeling overly entitled to everything.

Anyone can make mistakes that are just part of life. It is only human nature to sometimes snap, say incorrect things and insist on being right. Lack of self-reformation is dangerous. Every new bad habit or repetition of something outdated that we allow becomes harder to change the longer we are willing to ignore it.