The cancellation of all public events along with school closures have left many parents confused and panicked. There is an uncertainty about doing the right thing, from bringing your child for a simple walk to letting them run wild in the local park.
As the virus is new, advice might change as medical experts learn more, but for now we just need to keep our children clean and away from areas of possible danger.
On a positive, according to Dr. Peter J. Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, children are not showing as much serious illness as adults. “And as a result, we’re not really testing children nearly as much, so we don’t even know the role of children in the transmission of this disease.” he told the New York Times.
RSVPLive caught up with pharmacist Shane O'Sullivan, Founder and MD of Healthwave, to help us answer some simple questions.
Can I take my child outside to play?
Life doesn’t need to stop completely. Going for walks and getting fresh air is very important, bringing your child out on their scooter or bike in the housing estate or playing ball in the garden are all good ideas.
Most playgrounds are closed now to prevent large groups congregating but getting some fresh air is important once you are not in groups.
Should I bring my child to the doctor if they have a cold or flu symptoms?
No. You should phone your GP and not arrive at the surgery. If you are very concerned, you should phone 112 or 999.
There may be vulnerable elderly people in the doctor’s surgery that are at higher risk of contracting viruses. Your GP will advise you on the best course of action. Most viruses are self-limiting in children and may just require fluids to prevent dehydration (Dioralyte) and paracetamol for fever (Calpol).
Play dates are out but what about meeting with other family members that you are in regular contact with and have no signs or symptoms?
Social distancing unfortunately means avoiding meeting up in groups or visiting people.
Visiting grandparents with children is not advised during the outbreak. We know from other countries that COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting older people . Children are really good at fighting the virus and even better at spreading it, meaning they can pass the virus to other people without having any symptoms.
Instead, see if you can set Granny and Grandad up with video calling on Facetime, WhatsApp or Messenger on their phone or a spare iPad. Have the children video call them each day to break up feelings of isolation. You could even have a quiz or play games like 30 Seconds! A phone call is also better than no contact at all.
Have children a big impact on the spread ?
Children are super-spreaders of Coronavirus. The goal of social distancing is to reduce the contact between all people in a society so that a virus can’t be passed between them.
The risk from playdates is that children will pass the virus around between each other while showing no symptoms and then return to multiple homes to spread the virus further.
Shane O'Sullivan, Founder and MD of Healthwave