With grade 7 and 12 pupils preparing to return to school on June 1, an expert says children have a far lower risk of contracting moderate or severe cases of Covid-19.
“Because children are often asymptomatic they are less likely to be tested and therefore account for far fewer cases recorded in the literature,” Dr Moherndran Archary, a paediatric infectious disease specialist, told TimesLIVE on Thursday.
However, Archary said they were still waiting for data from seroprevalence surveys that will give a better understanding of how many children have asymptomatic disease. Archary was among the panellists at a SA Paediatric Association webinar on Wednesday afternoon. Other panellists included Prof Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology at Wits University and Dr Fiona Kritzinger, a paediatric pulmonologist at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town.
Archary noted there was no evidence to support the use of spray tunnels or environmental spraying and fogging to combat the spread of Covid-19. In the school environment, he said, it “is important to ensure that appropriate risk mitigation strategies are effective”.He said schools should offer alternative methods for those with the following underlining diseases:Severe neurodevelopmental disabilityHe said paediatricians could help parents assess the risks related to their child and family and advise how best to mitigate those risks. They could also decrease the levels of anxiety and fear, especially in children.
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