Experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine (LSHTM) have told members of the House of Lords that there was growing
evidence that children are in general much less affected by the virus than
adults.
Data already shows that people under the age of 20 are
considerably less likely to end up in hospital or die with COVID-19.
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But science is now beginning to suggest that they may not
even get infectious at all in the same way that adults do.
Infectious disease experts Dr Rosalind Eggo and Professor
John Edmunds explained the findings in the Lords’ Science and Technology
Committee on Tuesday May 19.
It comes as teachers’ unions and the government continue to
clash over whether to send pupils back to class at the start of June.
Unions say it is not safe and social distancing and proper
protection of staff and pupils won’t be possible, while the government is keen
to get at least some year groups back to school so they can continue their
education and parents can get back to work.
Around a quarter of children in France have now gone back to
school and have to abide by social distancing restrictions while on-site, and
to wear personal protective equipment. The authorities claim only 40 cases of
COVID-19 have been linked to schools there.
Dr Eggo said: ‘We think that children are less likely to get
it so far but it is not certain.
‘We are very certain that children are less likely to have
severe outcomes and there are hints that children are less infectious but it is
not certain.’
Scientists cannot say why children seem to have some level
of natural protection from COVID-19.
There have been suggestions that it because they don’t have
as much age-related lung damage or ill health, or because they have
considerably lower rates of illnesses which increase the risk of complications,
such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
In England’s hospitals, 14 children and teenagers under the
age of 20 have been killed by the virus – 0.05 per cent of the total 24,913.
Union chiefs have told teachers to demand detailed answers
to at least 169 questions from their bosses on issues such as bin lids,
coronavirus counselling and employing extra staff to clean paint brushes,
scissors and glue sticks before agreeing to return to school, it was revealed
today.
The National Education Union has also told its 450,000
members to stop marking work and keep online tuition ‘to a minimum’ for any
children still at home and not to try remote teaching if ‘they feel
uncomfortable’ after going back to the classroom from next month.
The NEU’s list of demands includes mapped locations of
lidded bins in classrooms and around the school, full health and safety risk
assessments for leaving doors and windows open while teaching and also asks:
‘What arrangements are in place to keep every classroom supplied with
tissues?’.
Other queries from the NEU include: ‘Have families been told
to provide water bottles?’ and suggests grilling bosses about bringing in more
staff specifically for washing ‘resources for painting, sticking and cutting
before and after use’ in classrooms and an official policy on how often pupils
will be reminded to catch coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow.
The NEU’s safety checklist has been hailed by many teachers
but critics have said the 22-page document is a ‘barrier’ to reopening primary
schools in England from June 1 because it appears impossible to answer all the
questions before then and may spook headteachers who fear their own staff could
take them to court.
Professor Edmunds, who is a member of SAGE, the group of
scientists advising the government, told members of the Lords: ‘It is unusual
that children don’t seem to play much of a role in transmission because for
most respiratory viruses and bacteria they play a central role, but in this
they don’t seem to.
‘There is only one documented outbreak associated with a
school – which is amazing.’
Schools in France have reopened to some pupils now with
protective equipment and social distancing rules in place, which has spurred on
the British Government to follow suit.
Despite protestations from unions across the channel,
Emmanuel Macron’s authorities have managed to reopen schools, claiming they
have had only 70 cases of coronavirus in 40,000 schools.
Around a quarter of the nation’s school children have returned to class because they live in areas deemed less affected by the virus.
It was a similar story in Belgium where primary and
secondary schools have been told to restart smaller classes of final-year
pupils under strict social distancing rules.
Jean-Michel Blanquer, France’s education minister, said
there had been 70 cases of coronavirus in around 50 schools since reopening.
Mr Blanquer also insisted that children who had picked up
COVID-19 had not caught it inside schools, where rigorous health measures are
being enforced.
He added: ‘It is absolutely essential that our children are
not the collateral victims of health conditions.’
Former prime minister in Britain, Tony Blair, has backed
calls for pupils to go back to school, saying some children were receiving no
education at all.
Mr Blair told BBC Newsnight: ‘If you look at all the best
evidence, and my Institute has assembled a lot of the different data on this,
especially for younger children, the risks of transmission are actually quite
low.
‘Private schools will have been educating their children
throughout this.
‘Parts of the state system will have been. But then there
are some children who will have been having no education at all.’
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