Article by: Natalie Müller
In the UK, London’s King College Hospital announced that a 13 year old boy is one of the youngest victims to die after being diagnosed with Coronavirus.
A family member was quoted saying that he had no pre-existing conditions but was showing symptoms and had difficulty breathing. He was later put into a ventilator and then an induced coma but unfortunately succumbed to the disease.
In Belgium, the Belgium Health service, confirmed that a 12 year old girl, who also had a fever for three days and tested positive for Coronavirus succumbed to the disease.
It is absolutely devastating to hear of the increase in child mortality due to the Coronavirus although child deaths are a rare event. Deaths recorded from Covid-19 among young people seem to be exceptional, even with the increase in reported deaths. As the Pandemic progresses, scientists are still unsure why there is such a low child mortality rate amongst children.
Recently published studies found that children typically only exhibit mild symptoms if infected but they can spread the coronavirus long after symptoms disappear. It’s clear that if the coronavirus speads among children, the outbreak would be far more worst than what it is now.
The South African government made a decisive decision to close all schools weeks before instituting a 21 day lockdown for all its citizens. A very important decision because as the outbreak continues to grow, countries could start reporting more cases among children.
According to the World Health Organization, about 80% of the deaths from the Coronavirus have occurred among people ages 60 and above.
There is no need to panic, says health officials . As South Africa being on lock down and other countries following suit, it’s the perfect opportunity for parents to reinforce basic hygiene to your children.
Ensure social distancing, wash hands regularly and as difficult as this may be, do not kiss your children especially when in self isolation.
For more updates, visit our website and remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
