The recommendation of the Swedish Public Health Agency has previously been that children with cold symptoms should stay home and not return to school until they are completely symptom free. But now the authority has produced a new guide that says school-age children should undergo a PCR test if they show symptoms that may indicate COVID-19.

If the test is negative, they can return to school as long as the general condition is good.

– Children and young people feel good about being able to participate in school and other daily activities, it is an important reason to try this age group. Previously, this group was advised to stay home at the slightest symptom. With the tests, they will be able to go back to school to a greater extent even if they have mild symptoms remaining, in combination with a negative test result, says Karin Tegmark Wisell, department head at the Swedish Public Health Agency, in a press release. .

The recommendations apply to children in the preschool class and up. For preschool-aged children, the recommendation remains that they stay home without taking samples. However, if you see a larger number of cases at the local or regional level, it may also be relevant to assess children in preschool.

However, according to Karin Tegmark Wisell, the Swedish Public Health Agency has not changed its opinion that children do not infect as much as adults.

– Our perception of children and infectivity has not changed. There, our previous assessment remains that children are infected to a lesser extent than adults and that the school environment has not been shown to be a driving force in the spread of infection, he says.

The aim of the guide is that ongoing COVID-19 sampling and testing for children and young people is carried out in a similar way in all regions. According to the Swedish Public Health Agency, the scope of testing for children currently varies.

As Läkartidningen previously reported, the Uppsalaför Region just over a week ago began testing children ages 10 and up for ongoing covid-19. The main reason is not to minimize the risk of spreading the infection in the classroom, says the region. Rather, the purpose is to be able to identify cases, track infections around them, and stop further spread of the infection.

The new guide from the Public Health Agency can be found here.