Can children become infected or not?

Children do not become infected, said Daniel Koch. That's not actually true, but there is some good news.

"Mommy, children can't get infected with the virus. That's what the man said on TV!' My son's mood was great. He was quoting Daniel Koch, Federal Delegate for the Corona Epidemic. And arguably the most important man in the federal administration right now.

For weeks, Koch has been repeating that: "Children are not drivers of the pandemic." But his statement in French at last Thursday's media conference had a new dimension: "Children do not fall ill or become infected. They really are not carriers of the virus."

And Koch added: "If there is anything good about this epidemic, it’s the news that the children are really not affected." Really, and again really. Koch really left no doubt. And his boss, Federal Councillor Alain Berset, repeated the happy news.

No evidence: Scientists disagree
But the contradiction from the scientists came promptly. Epidemiologist Emma Hodcroft from the University of Basel told this newspaper that it’s true that the course of the disease in children is almost always very mild. But: "In my opinion, we still know too little about the role that children play with regard to corona virus."

Other professional colleagues expressed similar views. The question of whether the school closures were wrong cannot be answered, says Hodcroft. It’s right that the re-opening should now be considered: "But we must closely monitor how the step affects the development of the virus."

Daniel Koch has been repeating for weeks: "Children are not drivers of the Corona pandemic."

After the public chastisement, Koch was forced to clarify his statement yesterday: "Of course there are infected children from time to time. But the vast majority of children do not become infected." When asked whether he based his statements on empirical data, Koch answered in the negative. "My findings were the result of conversations with paediatric infectious disease specialists. They have carried out initial investigations that have not yet been published. It’s not clear when this will happen."

Professor Christoph Berger heads the Department of Infectiology and Hospital Hygiene at the Children's Hospital Zurich  (Kinderspital Zürich). He clarifies: "Children have tested positive. So they can become infected." There are very few Covid-sick children, however and the disease progression is mild.

In terms of figures, 0.4 % of the 27,000 people infected in Switzerland are children under the age of ten. That's just over 100, and, of those, 24 had to be treated in hospital, and there were no deaths. The rate of infection is slightly higher among 10- to 19-year-olds, at 2.6 %.

Children can play with children
Chinese researchers have studied how children become infected. "The majority of infections are caused by a sick adult in the same household," says Berger, supporting the statement of virus hunter Koch. Berger adds that, fortunately, children are unfavourable targets for the corona virus, because they do sneeze and cough a lot, and are therefore bad transmitters. In addition, they show fewer symptoms of the disease, and therefore excrete fewer viruses.

In other words, children are harmless with regard to other children. Koch says: "It’s completely responsible to open up the primary schools again." The day care centres, on the other hand, were never closed by the Confederation. Berger sees it the same way: " There’s no problem when children play with each other. But the problem arises when children eat their evening meal together with their grandparents or other vulnerable people."

Because: unless a child is tested, it’s usually unclear whether children are infected and are simply not showing symptoms. Even Koch says that there is no 100 % certainty that a child is not infected. So grandparents should not look after children.

Every word has to be carefully considered
The federal crisis manager also says that the ban on gatherings of five or more people does not apply to children. "We have never banned small children from getting together in larger groups." But we don’t want their parents to meet in large numbers. Koch left open what exactly is meant by 'small'.

At yesterday's media conference, Koch was asked if he was surprised that every word has to be carefully considered, like those of the central bank presidents. "No, but I'm glad I'm not a central banker," Koch replied. He’s not lost his sense of humour.