On the eve of our children returning to school there is understandably a lot of parental anxiety surrounding this topic. After attending a recent Webinar hosted by SAPA ( South African Paediatric Association), I have put together a few reassuring facts, to ease our anxious mommy hearts. ⁃ Children under the age of 19 years are less likely than adults to acquire SARS- CoV-2. ⁃ Compared to adults, younger children are half as likely to transmit the virus to each other and their teachers. ⁃ Children going back to school doesn’t pose an increased risk for spreading the virus into their communities. ⁃ Even if they do contract SARS-CoV-2, children have far less serious disease accounting for less than 1% of all serious cases. ⁃ Masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene are still very important. These measures should be strictly enforced. ⁃ Extracurricular activities and sport can resume, whilst keeping strict controls to reduce transmission risks. ⁃ The overall opinion is that the benefits of re-opening schools far outweigh the risks to our children. This is especially true for children in vulnerable communities, where the school is much more than just a place of education. For those kids school is also a place of nutrition, of food security and psychosocial security and safety.
Xoxo, Dr Christa