New studies have shown that children may transmit the novel coronavirus to others, increasing the infection rate.
The role of children during the ongoing pandemic is still an unanswered question of experts fighting COVID-19. But according to a report from The New York Times, only a few children infected by the coronavirus are reported; most of them only have mild symptoms.
There are two new studies that show strong evidence that children can also transmit the novel coronavirus. Many epidemiologists, who were not involved in the research said that although it is not yet proven, the results of the study are strong enough to suggest that schools should remain closed for now.
On the other hand, another report stated that a disease found in children called "Kawasaki Disease" may be linked to COVID-19.
According to CNN Health, 15 hospitalized children in New York City showed symptoms compatible with a multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which could possibly be linked to the coronavirus as reported by the New York City Health Department on Monday, May 4.
The children who tested positive for COVID-19 or had positive antibody tests are aged 2 to 15 years old and were hospitalized from April 17 to May 1. The children had a high temperature lasting for five days or longer, rashes, dry cracked lips, swollen glands in the neck, red fingers or toes, and redness in both eyes.
Pediatric specialists in the UK warned the public that a small number of children are becoming sick with the rare syndrome that could possibly be linked to COVID-19. Similar cases have also been reported in Spain and Italy.
New studies claim COVID-19 can be transmitted by children: Kawasaki Disease might be linked to the findings
According to The New York Times, one of the studies was derived from the data analyzed from two cities of China; Wuhan, where the virus originated, and Shanghai.
The study showed that children were about a third susceptible to coronavirus infection compared to adults. However, when the schools reopened, children became three times more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections and had three times more physical contact than adults.
Based on the results, the researchers concluded that closing the schools is not enough to contain the coronavirus outbreak--but it can still help decrease the infection rate by about 40%-60%.
"My simulation shows that yes if you reopen the schools, you'll see a big increase in the reproduction number, which is exactly what you don't want," said Marco Ajelli, a mathematical epidemiologist who conducted the study in the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento, Italy.
A group of German researchers and scientists led the second study which was more straightforward than the first one. They conducted a test involving children and adults which showed that the children who were positive of COVID-19 are just as infectious as the adults.
The team analyzed 47 infected children between ages 1 to 11. Fifteen of the participants showed underlying symptoms while the remaining were mostly free of COVID-19 symptoms. It was revealed that asymptomatic children in the study had viral loads of the virus which were just as high, or even higher, compared to adults.
