GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — The largest study to date looking at children and the COVID-19 virus shows children of all ages can contract and share the virus, but children have a much lower risk of becoming severely ill.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at more than 2,100 cases of the novel coronavirus in children under 18 years old in China. About a third were confirmed to have the virus through testing, and the others were suspected cases, according to the study.
The researchers said four percent of the children had no symptoms at all, 90 percent had mild or moderate symptoms, and 6 percent had severe illness. In all the cases, one death of a 14-year-old was reported.
“They found in general kids had much less severe illness,” said Dr. Nate Chomilo, a pediatrician at the Park Nicollet Brookdale Clinic. “Only 6 percent of children in that study had severe illness versus about 18.5 percent in adults. But when you broke it down in different age ranges, you saw different results. For instance, infants under the age of one had a severe rate of 11 percent versus the 6 percent for all children.”
Chomilo said this study indicates that children and parents should be practicing the social distancing measures that adults are currently practicing. It also is a wake-up call for healthcare workers at children’s clinics and hospitals who now have data showing children can spread the virus at rates similar to adults.
Due to limited COVID-19 tests and the data showing mostly mild and moderate symptoms, Chomilo recommends keeping your child home should they show symptoms of fever and cough. Only if the fever is severe, there’s trouble breathing or trouble drinking water, Chomilo said, should you consider bringing a child to the ER or urgent care for treatment.
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The state of Minnesota has set up a hotline for general questions about coronavirus at 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
More information on the coronavirus:
- Facts not fear: What the Midwest should know about coronavirus
- Current number of presumptive coronavirus cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin
- Coronavirus-related cancellations, postponements and impacts in the Twin Cities
- Here are the common symptoms of coronavirus
- What are the 'underlying conditions' that make coronavirus more serious?