Despite international anecdotal reports suggesting children who contracted Covid-19 suffer long-term effects, a local expert on the matter insists youngsters are not the face of the global health crisis.
This week, CNN published an article which highlighted that children, adolescents and teenagers can experience symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, chest pains, diarrhoea and "Covid toes" – painful red or purple lesions that typically emerge on fingers or toes in the winter – for months after they tested negative.
The US media giant added that this medical phenomenon that many youngsters are encountering are is leaving parents anxious about the return to school and leaving them helpless in their bid to assist their children’s recovery.
But Professor Haroon Saloojee, an executive member at the South African Paediatric Association, told the Saturday Star this week children rarely die from the coronavirus and mostly experience mild symptoms if they are infected.
“There have certainly been anecdotal reports in the media about children experiencing longer-term consequences, similar to adults but it is not unexpected that some children develop ongoing symptoms after the initial of Covid-9 illness.”
While he admitted that much is still unknown about the novel virus and that more research is needed on the matter, he explained that kids are largely safe from serious infections and death.
“We learn new things about the virus each day, however, we know enough about its transmission in children and its effects on their bodies to be able to make sound clinical and public health decisions.”
These sentiments were echoed by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) which recently explained children made up less than 7% of all reported Covid-19 cases in South Africa and are less likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) or die, when compared to adults.
Saloojee, who is also a Personal Professor and Head of Division of Community Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at Wits University, was also previously quoted as saying children are not "super spreaders" of the virus as they have lower viral loads and as a result are less likely to transmit the coronavirus. For this reason, the local paediatrics expert insisted it is safe for children of all ages to return to school, adding they are more likely to be infected in their homes and in their communities than at educational centres.
“All children should be attending school,” Saloojee believes. “Considering the benefits and risks, it’s clear the advantages of returning to school far exceed any negative consequences for most children in South Africa.”
He explained that experience from around the world confirms that children can return to school safely. “Transmission rates in schools and early childhood education centres have been minimal, particularly between children and from children to adults.”
While he admitted that South Africa was still experiencing high transmission rates in comparison to other countries around the globe, local evidence indicates that even when some schools were open during June and July when daily transmissions were at their current all-time high, there were still no “extraordinary” infection rates in pupils and teachers.
“Schools are not high-risk zones; it’s at home and the neighbourhood where children and adults are most likely to acquire Covid-19,” he said.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the second closure of schools across the country last month when the nation was experiencing a surge in infections, Grade 7 and 12 pupils at public schools have since returned to class with minimal reports of outbreaks and infections. This is as the country is cautiously optimistic that coronavirus outbreaks in South Africa appear to be slowing, with confirmed cases in all of the nine provinces have fallen in recent days.
Data from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Burden of Disease Research Unit also shows positive signs as the country begins its recovery. In their latest report, published this week, the SAMRC said that there are hopeful signs of the pandemic reaching its peak in all the provinces by the end of last month.
Saloojee understands that some parents still fear sending their children back to school as there are still Covid-19 outbreaks and with no vaccine available yet.
Although he agrees that those youngsters who can be taught from home should, he believes that the majority of the country’s pupils don’t have this opportunity and that it is in the best interest to return to the classroom.
“My advice would be to send your child to school, ensure that they know and practise the basics of prevention (wear your face mask, avoid close contact and wash hands regularly) and do whatever you can to get them safely to school and back.”