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COVID ‐19, children and schools: overlooked and at risk
Author(s) -
Hyde Zoë
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/mja2.50823
Subject(s) - covid-19 , environmental health , psychology , virology , medicine , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease
An early cause for hope in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic was the observation that children are much less likely to experience severe illness than adults.1 This remains true, but has created a perception that children are less susceptible to infection and do not play a substantial role in transmission. In Australia, this perception has been reinforced by assurances from the Prime Minister that schools are safe and that physical distancing is unnecessary in this setting.2 However, emerging research suggests greater caution is needed.