Cape Town - A total of 3 629 children between birth and the age of 17 years have contracted Covid-19 from the start of the year until May 31, prompting health officials to caution parents and children alike to always be Covid-safe.
In response to questions in the legislature, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said the highest number of infections were among children between the ages of 15 and 17, with 1 324 cases, and the lowest was among those aged 0 to four-years-old, with 616 cases.
There were 556 Covid-19 cases in children between five and nine years old, and 1 133 cases among those aged ten to 14.
“Children are as susceptible to contracting Covid-19 as any other person. Our research and data have shown they are not as likely to contract severe illness or death as compared to those who are vulnerable and have underlying conditions. But they can spread it to those who are vulnerable,” health department spokesperson Mark van der Heever said.
Right to care chief executive, Covid-19 advisory committee member and faculty of medicine appointment at the University of Witwatersrand, Professor Ian Sanne, echoed the department’s sentiment.
“Children are as susceptible as adults and there's definitely risk to the family when they become infected. There are milder cases in children. The reason is they have less complications and risk, but there are cases of children getting sick and being admitted to hospital. We are seeing more cases of infection among children in the third wave, particularly in Gauteng; the rate of escalation is more rapid. The reasons are people have given up social distancing and masking.”
He said while schools were trying to practise social distancing, it was difficult to recommend at this time, but the possibility of school closure in Gauteng was going to become a reality, as infection rates among children grew.
South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) and UWC researcher Peter van Heusden said they were seeing more cases in the ten to 19-year age group in Gauteng especially.
“We are seeing more cases as the wave is increasing - and it is far from peaking. What is notable is that it is not straightforward getting a test for a child. At a private hospital maybe you can get a test. This means many children are not getting tested because they get it less severely, in general, than adults. In the first wave we had a hard lockdown; nobody was out and about. Second wave people were more out and about, and now there's even more mobility. The whole family is more exposed than before and we don’t know where they are picking it up; it could be from the train, for example, or other community interactions.”
Cape Times