Slight rise in COVID cases among kids no cause for worry, say experts
The Hindu
‘There are no major complications in about 99% of infected children’
A slight increase has been detected in the number of children getting infected by coronavirus in Ernakulam even though health experts say there is no cause for concern.
An analysis of the number of cases in the last four weeks showed that the percentage of children getting infected went up from 17.45 in the first week to 22.4 in the fourth week. The percentage of children among positive cases was 10.4 in August last year. The corresponding figure in this August 10.7. In January this year, the percentage of children (1 to 18 years) among the infected was 11.58. It went up to 15.07 in May and 18.19 by the end of August.
Stating that there is no cause for major concern about the uptick, M. Narayanan, former State president of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), says that only 43% of the total infected among children in the district during the last two weeks were symptomatic. “That means about 57% had no symptoms. Of the symptomatic, only 1.2% required hospital admission,” he says. Dr. Narayanan says that most of the children getting infected are isolated and not tested as their parents or some adult members may also be infected in the family. “Children are also scared of undergoing swab tests,” he adds.