TORONTO -- Premier Doug Ford said he's shocked that COVID-19 cases are increasing among younger people in Ontario and has warned that while they may feel invincible "it's going to be a different story for your parents."

Every day for the past week, people under the age of 39 have accounted for the majority of new COVID-19 infections in the province, with most new cases reported in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

"You may feel you're invincible and you'll get through it," Ford said at Queen’s Park on Monday. "(But) it's not just about yourself getting through it. Yes, you're healthy, you're young, it's about your parents and your other family members and your grandparents. That's what you have to think about when you go out."

"It’s going be a different story for your parents and your relatives." 

Health Minister Christine Elliott said the uptick in cases amongst young people could be a result of "COVID fatigue" and is now pleading with them to follow public health guidelines, such as maintaining a social circle to help prevent a second wave. 

“Please do the physical distancing, please wear face masks, please do the frequent hand washing and so on,” Elliott said. “And please, maintain one social circle, it's vitally important.”

To date, Ontario has reported 1,980 cases in COVID-19 in people aged 19 or younger, 11,352 cases in between aged between 20 and 39, there were 11,413 cases in between aged 40 and 59, nearly 7,000 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 6,006 cases in the people 80 and above.

Last month, Ontario's top doctor warned younger people who may be getting casual about protecting themselves from COVID-19 that he's getting reports of patients returning with prolonged health issues. 

Dr. David Williams said he has received anecdotal reports from physicians and medical groups in Ontario that patients in the 20-39 age group, who only had mild COVID-19 symptoms, are returning to the doctor after recovering with prolonged "effects and issues."

"I wouldn’t be too casual about not caring about getting infected because it's a new disease and we still have a lot to learn," Williams said. "We're starting to see some cases where people who had a relatively insignificant case of COVID-19 later on are having some effects and issues.”

Williams said it's not known how many young patients are complaining of prolonged symptoms. 

"Just because you may be young and think the kind of condition is just going to be like a flu like illness for a few days, a bit of shortness of breath … You don’t know what the longer term aspects are,” he added. "I'm not saying I know something will definitely happen, (but) I've heard some anecdotal reports."

On Monday, Williams said he hoped the trend is only a "short burst" and that his team is working on a strategy to curb COVID-19 "cabin fever."