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Study: German schoolchildren got more infected in their spare time
The risk of infection for schoolchildren is higher in free time than in school, according to an analysis of infected schoolchildren in Hamburg, Germany. The vast majority were infected with COVID-19 at home, at parties or other private events.
School-age children in Hamburg who got COVID-19 before autumn break in October were often infected in their spare time, a new analysis shows. Stock Photography.
The analysis has been carried out on infected schoolchildren in Hamburg from the end of the summer holidays in August until the autumn holidays in October. According to the city’s school authority, 78 percent of the 372 infected children had contracted the infection outside of school.
For children under 12, the risk of becoming infected is only half.
171 of the 472 schools in Hamburg reported infection during this time, but only 23 of them had many cases. Many of the schools with infected students also recorded only one case of infection per year group during the same 10-day period. This is interpreted to mean that the students probably did not infect each other during school hours.
To cope with the growing spread of the infection, Germany has introduced a one-month closure, among other things, of bars and restaurants that will last until the end of November. However, schools and shops remain open.
Currently, 475 German schools and 100 preschools have reported ongoing outbreaks, says Lothar Wieler, director of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases.
