Observer Report
Coronavirus in children in Pakistan has been relatively mild compared to adult patients. Most children developed a mild form of the disease and are not believed to be major drivers of the virus spread, according to the country’s infectious disease experts. Doctors now support the reopening of educational institutes with strict adherence to SOPs.
“Children make up a very small proportion of cases and most of those infected did not develop severe symptoms,” said Dr Azizullah Dhillo of Civil Hospital Karachi on Thursday.
Children have lower susceptibility to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) compared to adults, according to the Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Society of Pakistan.
Studies from around the world have shown that children account for 1-7% of COVID-19 cases. Few require hospitalisation and even fewer (less than 0.1%) die from the virus, the MMIDSP added.
Data from the Sindh health department as of September 8 reveals that in Pakistan, children between one to 10 years made up 10,213 of the total 299,233 reported cases in the whole country. Around 22,500 cases were reported in children between 11 to 20 years of age.
“Though all hospitals had set up wards for children with Covid-19, hardly any child was admitted since the disease outbreak,” Dr Sadia Aamir of Liaquat National Hospital pointed out.
She added that children had already been put at risk when families took them to parks, malls and restaurants where no one was following SOPs. Everything else has been opened up, it makes no sense to keep schools closed, Dr Aamir said.
Children need social interaction to develop social skills, said Dr Shobha Luxmi of Dow University of Health Sciences.
In-person schooling is in the best interest of students for normal development including physical and mental health, Dr Luxmi said.
Masks, however, were not suitable for every child, said Dr Bushra Jamil, MMIDSP president and a professor at AKU. The WHO had advised against masks for children under 12 years, she said.
In addition to the precautionary measures mentioned earlier, Dr Jamil also suggested parents teach children how to use hand sanitizers and if possible, send children with it to school with personal sanitizers. She recommended schools ensure proper ventilation according to their resources to limit transmission.
