Are Kids Innocent Bystanders Along With Adults, Or Are They Stealthily Helping Drive The Coronavirus Outbreak?
Though the evidence to date suggests this virus doesn’t inflict severe disease on children, there’s reason to think kids may be helping to amplify transmission--just like they do during the regular flu season. Experts say that figuring out how the coronavirus interacts with children might be crucial in containing its spread.
Stat:
Key Question For Coronavirus Response: What's Kids' Role In Spreading It?
Among the many, many unknowns about the new coronavirus: What role do children play in transmission of the virus that causes Covid-19 disease? It’s a question that public health experts would love an answer to. Knowing whether kids are innocent bystanders, getting infected if someone brings the virus into their households, or are in fact a population that is stealthily driving this epidemic, would give response planners critical ammunition to use in the battle against the virus. (Branswell and Thielking, 2/27)
And in other news —
The New York Times:
What Would A Coronavirus Outbreak In The U.S. Mean For Schools?
Schools in the United States prepare for all manner of disasters and threats, whether hurricanes, mass shooters, tornadoes, influenza or head lice. But this week, a stark new order came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Get ready for the coronavirus. Around the nation, school officials and parents were flummoxed by the sudden warning that if a coronavirus epidemic hit the United States, school buildings could be shut down for long periods of time, leaving children sequestered at home and schools scrambling to provide remote instruction. (Goldstein and Bosman, 2/27)
The Washington Post:
Canceled Foreign Trips And ‘Palpable’ Anxiety: Schools Prepare For The Coronavirus
Canceled international trips. Extra hand-washing and squirts of disinfectant between classes. Essay-length emails sent to parents, meant to reassure. “A new disease is circulating,” Northern Virginia school officials wrote of the novel coronavirus spreading around the world in a recent message to Fairfax County parents and staff. “It’s natural for people to be concerned.” (Natanson, 2/26)
