As most of the world continues to socially distance, Switzerland last week talked about easing restrictions for children — so they can hug their grandparents. (Such meetings should be brief though and not involve babysitting.) The move, made in part to benefit older people’s mental health, is a risky one though. That’s because it’s unclear whether or not young children, who generally seem to get mild cases of Covid-19, transmit the disease to others at similar rates as adults.
Referring to a study released this month as well as his conversations with the country’s health experts, Daniel Koch, the Swiss infectious disease chief, said: “Young children are not infected and do not transmit the virus.” The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health added that children aged below 10 rarely get the virus and often have only light symptoms. They are apparently not big spreaders and are often infected by adults.
Add to this a growing number of released reports from public health and infectious disease experts suggesting children spread the virus far less than adults. Little wonder then that Denmark reopened its schools earlier this month and Spain allowed children 13 years old or younger to play outside.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says kids “can still pass this virus onto others who may be at higher risk, including older adults and people who have serious underlying medical conditions.” Other studies too show children continue to display similar transmission abilities as adults, leading experts to caution against trusting kids not to spread the disease “What we don’t know yet is the degree to which children can transmit the virus,” Dr Danielle Zerr, an infectious disease expert at Seattle Children’s Hospital told Vox.
Staying home from school could curb children’s educational progress, while disrupting the work-life balance for adults. If children can head back to school with minimal health risks, then that could prove a major benefit for the child, their parents, and society at large. But the science is far from settled.
India’s health ministry has confirmed 46,433 Covid-19 cases (32,138 active cases) and 1,568 fatalities. 2,900 fresh cases were recorded on Monday.
Fatalities across the world are 251,580 (over 3.58 million infections).
The numbers are as of Tuesday, 12: 30 pm IST. Check out the latest data here
India is gradually reconciling to the fact that the coronavirus is here to stay, no matter the lockdown — the average daily cases at 1,926 for the week ending May 3 is among the highest in the world. Add to this the concerns of safely evacuating migrants from virus-hit, urban areas to rural states, the urgency for an effective treatment for Covid-19 intensifies. Thankfully, a d
