Parents of school children in winter usually experience common cold or the flu, stuffy noses, sore throats, coughs and low-grade fevers. However, this situation has been change since COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest worry lies for these parents is to know whether these symptoms are non-serious cold or flu, or an indication of more severe infection, COVID-19. They are often confused about whether should they get their child tested for COVID-19? And if so, when? And even if their children test negative, how long should parents and their children isolate themselves before returning to work or to school?

It has been observed that it is very difficult to discriminate between common Covid-19 symptoms like a cough or a fever with symptoms of the common cold or flu. Studies demonstrate that illness in children with Covid-19 is more serious and can include diarrhea or congestion along with the loss of taste or smell, fatigue, headache and sore throat.

The most common question parents ask is what they should do if a child has one or more of those symptoms. The best solution is to isolate them and keep them home. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest that the likelihood that every sick children has Covid is low. However, don not take risk and avoid taking them out for school.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 490,000 children under 18 in the developed country like USA have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus for Covid-19. Another study, which included schoolchildren, revealed that 63 percent of cases were in children aged 12 to 17 while 37 percent were in those aged 5 to 11. As mortality rate due to COVID-19 is relatively very low in children, the maximum focus is given whether they can be infected at school and then transmit it at home as it is estimated that about 3.3 million adults older than 65,  with maximum vulnerability to the virus, live with a school-age child.

According to a pediatric infectious disease researcher, the incidence of the virus within a community is important context for testing. He provided an example as if a child suffers from hay fever every fall, has not been exposed to someone with the virus, and is in an area where there is not an outbreak, then testing of that particular child makes no sense. However, if you are living in an area where there are many new cases a day and your child has symptoms similar to COVID, then testing of your child should be done.

Parents often ask whether a child suspected of being infected should be quarantined.  It has been suggested that investigation of suspected child is highly crucial not only for contract tracing, but also to create a precise picture of disease transmission in an area to guide schools on reopening. Moreover, timing of COVID-19 testing is very important as you can get a false negative test results as well.

Therefore, all children should strictly adhere to the guideline of protective measures, like wearing masks, distancing and washing hands. These measures not only slow the spread of COVID-19, but also prevents the transmission of cold and the flu. Furthermore, researchers highlight the importance of quarantine and testing in schoolchildren with runny noses, fevers, and coughs.

Source: Should Parents Test for Covid if Their Kid Might Just Have a Cold? Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-should-parents-do-about-covid-testing-if-their-kids-seem-have-cold-180976083/. Accessed on: 23-05-2021.