Millions have been infected and hundreds of thousands
have so far died from Corona virus.
But what's the risk to children?
Here's what parents need to know.
Can children get Coronavirus?
Yes, children can get coronavirus.
But children seem to get it less often than adults, and
it's often not as serious.
All of the data that's come out of China and Europe,
the U.K. and America, is that people who are older,
people with co-morbidities, people
who are obese and men more than women are more susceptible
to severe Covid. Children, fortunately, have
experienced extremely mild disease.
Even so, you still need to watch out for the symptoms,
which are a high temperature and a new continuous cough.
Can children spread coronavirus?
Experts in the U.K. say it's not clear.
A recent evidence review found there's been no single
instance of a child under 10 transmitting the virus.
In Switzerland, children under 10 are now allowed to hug
their grandparents after public health officials concluded
they posed no risk to them.
But opinion is still divided.
I've not seen any compelling data at all that
convinces me that children can't spread coronavirus.
So in my opinion, it's still really important
for children not to be in contact with
vulnerable groups.
That includes the elderly and people with comorbidities
who are currently shielding.
What is Kawasaki disease and why is it being talked about
in relation to coronavirus in children?
Children have been hospitalized with symptoms which
initially looked like sepsis, and some of those patients
have tested positive for Covid-19.
This has prompted experts in the medical community to
question whether this could be an extreme inflammatory
reaction to Covid among very young patients.
The reason a number of people have been talking about
Kawasaki disease and associating it with covid
in this past week is because some of the features of the
children that raised the alert over the past week
are not dissimilar to the features we see in children
with Kawasaki disease.
And the features include fever and rashes and red eyes and red lips
I think it's really important to be absolutely clear
that this condition has affected a handful of children.
So we have eleven point five million million children in
this country and we're talking about a handful of children
who've had this inflammatory condition.
I think that clinicians need to be mindful of it because it
impacts on how we treat a very small proportion
of children. I think that parents should simply
be looking out for signs of the unwell child this is
exquisitely rare.
How should I care for my child if they have mild coronavirus symptoms?
If your child's well enough to be looked after a home.
Experts recommend that parents treat symptoms of fever or pain
related to Covid-19 with paracetamol.
The advice to parents remains the same
If you're worried about your child for whatever reason
contact NHS 111 or your family doctor for urgent advice
If it's an emergency, contact 999
And if if a professional tells you to go to hospital
Please go to hospital
