Children can be as contagious as adults.

The study, which has not yet been published and reviewed, is based on the results of tests of people in Berlin. 60,000 people have been tested and 3,700 tested positive for the virus.

Researchers have measured the presence of viruses in the respiratory organs in different age groups and have concluded that the amount of virus does not differ significantly between preschoolers and the elderly, although children have milder symptoms.

“According to the results, we must be cautious about the unlimited opening of schools and preschools in the current situation. Children could be as contagious as adults, “writes virologist Christian Drosten and colleagues at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin.

Various reports indicate that children are not as contagious

The public health authority does not recommend that schools be closed, and according to the authority, there is no reason for a contagious protective perspective that symptom-free students should stay home.

– We know very little about the spread of infection in this, we do not know who has an important role in this. Therefore, it is obvious that the children are not clear either. However, there is not much to say about it. We don’t see outbreaks in schools, and now we see that when countries start to open something, they open schools, ”state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told SVT News.

At the press conference on Wednesday, the National Board of Health said there was a low risk of children taking the infection home.

“The children of people at risk should be in school,” said Thomas Lindén, department head.

According to the WHO, there is an equally high risk that children and young people may become infected and may spread the infection even further. Drip infections and contact with a sick person spread the infection, but it is not common for children to become seriously ill, according to the World Health Organization.

Various reports indicate that children are not as contagious as adults. In Australia, for example, it has been found that 18 infected students and teachers in 15 different schools in New South Wales could only be linked to two other cases, while 735 children and 128 teachers had been close to the people.

This week, The Guardian reported on a 9-year-old boy in France who was infected with the virus, but did not pass it on to 172 people investigated and who had contact with the boy. The boy’s family was also not infected.

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Unusual symptoms in children