Prince Charles highlights Coronavirus impact on youngsters

London: The UK's Prince Charles on Sunday highlighted the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic on young people, saying it was a "particularly difficult time to be young".

"For anyone, this is a difficult time - but it is a particularly difficult time to be young," the BBC quoted the Prince of Wales as saying in an article published in the Sunday Telegraph.

He compared the current situation to "other times when hope was scarce", citing concerns over youth unemployment in the 1970s that prompted him to set up his charity, the Prince's Trust which helps people aged between 11 and 30 seek employment opportunities and life skills.

"This year, we celebrate the fact that over the last nearly 45 years, we have helped a million young people to change their lives for the better," he wrote in the article.

"Over all these years since the trust was launched, there has never been an easy time.

"However, there has never been a time as uniquely challenging as the present, when the pandemic has left perhaps another million young people needing urgent help to protect their futures.

"The task ahead is unquestionably vast, but it is not insurmountable," he was quoted as saying.

Prince Charles, who had tested positive for the virus earlier this year, has set up the Young People Relief Fund to provide extra support to young people affected by the impact of the virus.