Children may NOT catch or spread coronavirus as adults, scientists say as authorities plan to reopen schools

 

Experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have told members of the House of Lords that there was growing evidence that children are in general much less affected by the virus than adults.

Data already shows that people under the age of 20 are considerably less likely to end up in hospital or die with COVID-19.

But science is now beginning to suggest that they may not even get infectious at all in the same way that adults do.

Infectious disease experts Dr Rosalind Eggo and Professor John Edmunds explained the findings in the Lords’ Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday May 19.

It comes as teachers’ unions and the government continue to clash over whether to send pupils back to class at the start of June.

Unions say it is not safe and social distancing and proper protection of staff and pupils won’t be possible, while the government is keen to get at least some year groups back to school so they can continue their education and parents can get back to work.

Around a quarter of children in France have now gone back to school and have to abide by social distancing restrictions while on-site, and to wear personal protective equipment. The authorities claim only 40 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to schools there.

Dr Eggo said: ‘We think that children are less likely to get it so far but it is not certain.

‘We are very certain that children are less likely to have severe outcomes and there are hints that children are less infectious but it is not certain.’

Scientists cannot say why children seem to have some level of natural protection from COVID-19.

There have been suggestions that it because they don’t have as much age-related lung damage or ill health, or because they have considerably lower rates of illnesses which increase the risk of complications, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

In England’s hospitals, 14 children and teenagers under the age of 20 have been killed by the virus – 0.05 per cent of the total 24,913.

Union chiefs have told teachers to demand detailed answers to at least 169 questions from their bosses on issues such as bin lids, coronavirus counselling and employing extra staff to clean paint brushes, scissors and glue sticks before agreeing to return to school, it was revealed today.

The National Education Union has also told its 450,000 members to stop marking work and keep online tuition ‘to a minimum’ for any children still at home and not to try remote teaching if ‘they feel uncomfortable’ after going back to the classroom from next month.

The NEU’s list of demands includes mapped locations of lidded bins in classrooms and around the school, full health and safety risk assessments for leaving doors and windows open while teaching and also asks: ‘What arrangements are in place to keep every classroom supplied with tissues?’.

Other queries from the NEU include: ‘Have families been told to provide water bottles?’ and suggests grilling bosses about bringing in more staff specifically for washing ‘resources for painting, sticking and cutting before and after use’ in classrooms and an official policy on how often pupils will be reminded to catch coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow.

The NEU’s safety checklist has been hailed by many teachers but critics have said the 22-page document is a ‘barrier’ to reopening primary schools in England from June 1 because it appears impossible to answer all the questions before then and may spook headteachers who fear their own staff could take them to court.

Professor Edmunds, who is a member of SAGE, the group of scientists advising the government, told members of the Lords: ‘It is unusual that children don’t seem to play much of a role in transmission because for most respiratory viruses and bacteria they play a central role, but in this they don’t seem to.

‘There is only one documented outbreak associated with a school – which is amazing.’

Schools in France have reopened to some pupils now with protective equipment and social distancing rules in place, which has spurred on the British Government to follow suit.

Despite protestations from unions across the channel, Emmanuel Macron’s authorities have managed to reopen schools, claiming they have had only 70 cases of coronavirus in 40,000 schools.

Around a quarter of the nation’s school children have returned to class because they live in areas deemed less affected by the virus.

It was a similar story in Belgium where primary and secondary schools have been told to restart smaller classes of final-year pupils under strict social distancing rules.

Jean-Michel Blanquer, France’s education minister, said there had been 70 cases of coronavirus in around 50 schools since reopening.

Mr Blanquer also insisted that children who had picked up COVID-19 had not caught it inside schools, where rigorous health measures are being enforced.

He added: ‘It is absolutely essential that our children are not the collateral victims of health conditions.’

Former prime minister in Britain, Tony Blair, has backed calls for pupils to go back to school, saying some children were receiving no education at all.

Mr Blair told BBC Newsnight: ‘If you look at all the best evidence, and my Institute has assembled a lot of the different data on this, especially for younger children, the risks of transmission are actually quite low.

‘Private schools will have been educating their children throughout this.

‘Parts of the state system will have been. But then there are some children who will have been having no education at all.’

 

Daily Mail