Children with only the common cold are “absolutely” free from the coronavirus, according to leading British expert Professor Tim Spector of King’s College London. Daily Mail.
Professor Spector is trying to reassure parents, arguing that a runny nose, along with nasal congestion and sneezing, is a “sure sign” that children have a cold, not COVID-19.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said parents pushing for coronavirus tests for their children who are simply suffering from the common cold are contributing to an overwhelming national testing service that has plunged into chaos over the past week.
In the UK, fears are mounting that schools and offices will have to close because people with mild symptoms cannot prove they have tested negative for the coronavirus.
Testing failure has affected almost all schools in the UK, where up to 25,000 teachers in England alone are already forced to stay at home and isolate themselves.
Professor Spector participated in a study that showed that the most common symptoms of COVID-19 in school-aged children are fatigue (55 percent), headaches (55 percent) and fever (49 percent).
By comparison, in adults, the most common symptoms are fatigue (87 percent), headache (72 percent), and loss of smell (60 percent). Neither children nor adults often report a cold at all.
A team of researchers has spearheaded efforts to record the loss of taste and odor as a symptom of the virus in the UK after reports in the attachment showed that these manifestations were a symptom of the virus. But their massive body of data means scientists can also determine which symptoms mean someone doesn’t have the coronavirus.
Amid fears that children will be infected with the coronavirus two weeks after the schools opened, Professor Spector reminded the public that a runny nose is not considered a symptom.
The standard symptoms of fever, persistent cough, and loss of smell and taste are true for people between the ages of 18 and 65, he said, but they can be different for older or younger people.
The professor urged parents at all costs to keep their children at home if they show symptoms: “But don’t rush around the country trying to take a test for what is likely to be a cold, not COVID.”
According to the Covid Symptom Study app, more than half (52%) of children under the age of 18 who test positive for Covid-19 do not register any “adult” classic symptoms (cough, fever, anosmia) in the week before and after the test.
In addition, a third (33%) of children who test positive for COVID-19 have never had any of the 20 symptoms listed in the app, suggesting that many children are asymptomatic.
The data show that children have a different set of symptoms than the general adult population. The five main symptoms in school-aged children who test positive are fatigue (55 percent), headache (53 percent), fever (49 percent), sore throat (38 percent), and loss of appetite (35 percent).
The study also found that one in six (15%) children who test positive for COVID also have an unusual skin rash.
In adults, the most common symptoms are fatigue (87 percent), headache (72 percent), loss of smell (60 percent), persistent cough (54 percent), and sore throat (49 percent).
The app currently has approximately 250,000 children, 198 of whom have tested positive, making it one of the largest studies of children testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK.
Due to serious problems in the testing system, teachers and students are forced to quarantine their homes, not knowing for sure if they have coronavirus. They either cannot take the test on site or take time off to wait for results, which can take several days to get.
The government says one of the reasons for stopping tests is because “concerned patients” get swabs when they are asymptomatic, along with disruptions to websites, congested labs and a real increase in demand.
United Kingdom Health Secretary Matt Hancock also warned parents that a runny nose indicates a cold, not a coronavirus: “When school resumes, children often catch colds – a normal illness, if you will.”
This comes amid growing concern that thousands of teachers are out of work just two weeks after the school opens, many of whom are not sick with COVID-19 but cannot be sure due to lack of tests. Some schools reported that up to a fifth of their staff were forced to stay at home, while unions warned that the crisis was spiraling out of control.
School principals called on the government to prioritize the education sector for testing, as the crisis could make “staffing unsustainable”.
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