Children don't spread coronavirus?

[Twinklelittlestar1]

I've worked in early years settings for two decades and it's widely appreciated how many bugs get passed around between young children because they are so tactile with others/ hands in mouths/noses etc. So the idea that coronavirus is somehow different and that children don't spread it just doesn't add up. I've read a few things backing both arguments (it feels you can get a study that proves the argument you want) but are there any science/ medical people who can explain why coronavirus would be any different to any other bug I've ever known which is passed so easily among children and onto their adults? Why would children spread it less so than adults when the opposite is usually true?

@ohthegoats - please see my comment about Derby. Within schools teachers are being asked to mix with children, not to mix with other adults. They then catch coronavirus from each other by not following guidelines. Then you included them again as "teachers are being thrown under the bus". There may be cases where children infect adults and those need to be monitored, but it's really important to keep conversations honest about what went wrong in individual cases or nobody can understand actual risks.

How many actually died though??. Schools are not run by kids no. However we cannot keep schools closed forever as we will be in deep shit (like now). Hence why schools always remained open for some parents.

Just because you get COVID does that mean we should close the schools? Most people get COVID and recover just fine. This part doesn’t seem to be highlighted in news papers OR when people do die it seems they have other additional health problems.

It’s complex I’m interested to know weather I have had COVID myself as I was poorly in March. I volunteered to have the antibody test next week at work. 3 people who I worked with had positive results for COVID and they were all back at work with a few weeks later. This doesn’t mean we should dismiss it, it is dangerous but I cannot live in a world of constant fear, for me that’s more unhealthy

But the fact there are cases at school doesn't mean outbreaks are occurring. There only seems to be one example in all those links where more than one or two cases were confirmed - and that sounds as if all the staff were giving it to each other. It would be an outbreak if all children and the teacher fell ill within a bubble, but all those articles just say they have been asked to isolate.

And several of the articles are a week to 10 days old so if everyone had fallen ill the newspaper would probably have updated. We have had no cases in our local schools (40 or so primaries in my LA) while the key worker children have been going in and no cases yet since schools reopened.

My DD2 (8) had it in early March. She became ill 10 days after me. I think we both caught it at their big half-term gymnastics holiday club. The room where the handover happened was very airless and crowded, so I'm sure that's where it happened.

DD2 had a temperature, chest pain and headache and she was very poorly for 4 days. But my DH didn't catch it, despite being as involved in her care as I was. She didn't have a cough (which was why I didn't pick up the possibility that she might have COVID), so that might explain why she didn't pass it to him.

I think thats because as pp saying they are asked to SI rather than testing everyone whixh is what other countries do. But would also be giving you the answers

Children can spread it cant they? But they are less likely to get it or to have it badly if they do.

Schools obviously have to follow distancing and hygiene guidelines, but your post is another good reason why it's good to take it a step at a time with schools opening. 15 in a class doesn't give 2m distancing and that'll apply to the teacher. The government can see if there's a spike in children of those years and their teachers getting coronavirus.

I suppose they're more likely to pass it on to their parents or siblings than to teachers because if they are ill with a temperature or a cough, they're kept off school and it's the parents who are looking after them. But it is odd that my DH didn't catch it; he has asthma and is in his 50s, so he's in a vulnerable group. As well as being a man, since men are more vulnerable than women by all accounts.

My dd had the toes, she was quite poorly with it.
Nobody has told me whether this makes her immune from the virus again.
I think me and dh had it in January.

I live in the Netherlands. Kids here under 12 have not had to socially distance AT ALL. Playgrounds stayed open, no limit on number of kids who could play out together (a lot given the amazing weather since April). Schools and all sports have been back for 5 weeks. Juniors are back full time. Seniors 50% attendance.

There have been no deaths in anyone under 30 years old here. 19 deaths in people 30-45 (arguably the most likely age group to be parents of kids under 12). All had preexisting conditions. Less than 700 people under 45 hospitalised. I'm not sure of the science (other than fewer ACE inhibitors as mentioned by PP), but there is clearly some kind of reduced transmission from kids up to adults when you look at the real life data. Various studies were undertaken here which support this - but agree you can find anything to support your argument at the moment.

I am in France and all schools are returning to normal even though the virus is still circulating albeit at a low level. My son's primary goes back next week (school obligatory for all kids) - no social distancing although they will still have a staggered start and finish with regular handwashing. Dd says she thinks we are just 1 big scientific experiment so hopefully we will know more in about 2 weeks if we see outbreaks or not.

All 4 of my kids got it. 3 quite ill, one very ill. I wonder if the Pediatricians that are shouting children are safe wear PPE when seeing their patients? 🤔

What doesn’t make sense to me is that shops are quarantining books and clothes etc which have been touched by customers because that might spread the virus and supermarkets are wiping trolly handles and workplaces are being deep cleaned. Also people being told to wash their hands...

All because the virus can live on surfaces for some time.

However, it apparently can’t be spread by miniature living breathing human beings to the families and teachers. It doesn’t matter whether they can catch it or get ill with it- they surely must be a massive transmission risk to their families.

If it is possible to catch Covid from a door handle, it MUST be far more possible to catch it from a child.

My son's primary goes back next week (school obligatory for all kids) - no social distancing although they will still have a staggered start and finish with regular handwashing. Dd says she thinks we are just 1 big scientific experiment.

I can understand that. But I think staggered start and finishing times at school are the way to go, as home time in the playground was always really crowded, teachers, children and parents, and social distancing just wouldn't be possible.

I think the biggest area of spread will be the staff rooms between adults.
Also we aren't given much info in the newspaper articles.I do recognise one though when the school opened on Monday and 2 staff tested positive on Wednesday.So they started work with it,nothing to do with children passing it on.
I think now us the time to open children's play grounds.Parents can decide if they want their children to play incumbered by rules just a slug of hand gel before and after.

Yes you have a point about staff rooms. But that can be controlled with social distancing and hand sterilisers. Or a limit on the number of staff members allowed in a room at a given time. Obviously this transition period will be irritating but hopefully for a limited period.

Don't know why but it's pretty clear that they don't spread it more than adults - as there haven't been any clusters in schools globally unlike meat packing plants etc.

It really gets my goat when people say if closing schools saves one life, then it's worth it. Kids die of infectious diseases caught in schools, get run over on the way to school or are in car accidents. Some children will have died in the home in circumstances that wouldn't have happened if they had been at school in the last 3 months. But yes, of course we should cancel all education for an illness that when compared to a hundred other illnesses, doesn't really affect kids

@Kitcat122

All 4 of my kids got it. 3 quite ill, one very ill. I wonder if the Pediatricians that are shouting children are safe wear PPE when seeing their patients? 🤔

How do you know they had it? Were they tested and confirmed?

As PP have said it's likely to do with ACE2 receptors on cells. The virus enters human cells via the receptor and then replicates. Children have very few of these and if the virus can't replicate it can't infect the host successfully and then they won't be shedding viral particles passing it to others around them. Why some children are still affected is unknown of course. Were previous posters kids tested? I've many friends who had suspected covid (all working in hospitals) but with negative tests at the time and negative antibody tests.

There’s a bit in the Children’s Commissioner’s report where they looked at NHS childcare settings (open throughout lockdown) as an informal study to risk assess how Coronavirus might spread in schools and nurseries. There were remarkably few cases despite lots of the parents working on the frontline, no cases of transmission of Covid occurred amongst the children and none of the cases found in staff were found to be related to the childcare settings.

Children’s commissioner article link for anyone interested

@PulpHorn when a Dr thinks somebody has been positive for COVID and has a negative test. They look at the chest x-ray and this reflects a positive result too. A lot of us WILL of had it and not have known about it. Like your saying the testing in not always accurate.

As for the antibody test that’s something that has been rolled out recently so I’m not too sure about this.

It’s baffling I also work with the COVID and apart from 2 weeks in March I haven’t been unwell nor has my child and we are all in the same house.

@Shinebright72 no and I probably wouldn't have thought they necessarily had it but I was very ill and have been suffering the effects of it 3 months later. We all got ill within a few days of each other. They were better after a couple of weeks just me that's still suffering.

My DD2 had the symptoms initially 10 days apart so we both could have caught it at that same place (that gymnastics club), or she could have caught it from me. We weren't tested then so we can't know for sure, and by the time I was tested (3 months later), it was always going to be negative. But the doctors at our GP surgery were fairly sure I had COVID, and I've had all the symptoms and I'm still unwell over 3 months on.

I would hate to think I hadn't had it and could still catch it!