key: cord-1022837-covxsncr
authors: Ferrero, Fernando
title: Isolating children is not the answer to COVID‐19
date: 2020-06-23
journal: Pediatr Pulmonol
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.24911
sha: 22371395b8bb60a6d686407f211c6cd8217c0923
doc_id: 1022837
cord_uid: covxsncr

nan

To the Editor,

We have read with interest the early paper by Lin et al, 1 since there is still little information on how coronavirus disease 2019 develops in children.

After analyzing it, we have the impression that some of the conclusions should be considered with caution.

In the case report presented by Lin, we did not find conclusive evidence to affirm without doubts, that the father was infected by his daughter. The father could have been infected 7 days earlier in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, or 6 days earlier on the bus to Xiangyang, Hubei.

On the other hand, recommending extending quarantine periods based on the observation of a single case seems, at least, somewhat hasty.

We acknowledge that social distancing appears to be one of the tools we have to deal with this pandemic. But the advantages and disadvantages of social quarantines have been the subject of lively discussions that transcend the field of public health. The effects of massive lockdowns on the world's economies remain to be seen.

Furthermore, the effects of prolonged quarantines on children in societies used to freedom are yet to be measured, but they will surely have a striking impact.

Every day, new evidence appears indicating that children are not as dangerous as they seemed, as a vehicle for this infection. 2 While we understand that children seem to be more likely asymptomatic, so they could infect unsuspecting individuals (in particular elders in their household), considering the information now available, we must be more cautious.

At this time of looking for answers, more than ever we have to be cautious when making recommendations for a disease that affects millions of people, based on just one case.

The isolation period should be longer: lesson from a child infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Chongqing, China

Children are not COVID-19 super spreaders: time to go back to school