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At Zollikon ZH, a class had to be quarantined. In Geneva, two school classes were closed due to the corona virus. At Zofingen AG, four classes are even sent to quarantine. Although the school has recently started operating again, the list is growing rapidly. In the canton of Zurich alone, 46 children have been infected in the three weeks since the end of the summer holidays. 254 students are in quarantine.
For months, federal authorities have taken the position that children are hardly affected by the coronavirus. However, with the increase in cases in school buildings, doubts arise again. In the “NZZ am Sonntag”, the Geneva virologist Isabella Eckerle (39) contradicts. Children have hardly been registered in previous studies.
Otherwise, the situation threatens to spiral out of control.
The assumption that they are not a risk group is not true: “When children are infected, they have as high a viral load as adults.” Therefore, Eckerle requires that children be screened for Corona as often as the entire population. At the same time, he advocates for compulsory masking in elementary school.
If children were not screened, outbreaks in schools, such as recently in Aargau and Geneva, would be noticed too late. Since children are only mildly ill, an infection process can burn for a long time before a teacher becomes ill. Then the school management might feel compelled to close the schools again. This must be avoided at all costs.
Experts realize that testing children is a great challenge. They often catch a cold in winter. And yet, doctors would have to discover the corona cases underneath. “If that gets out of hand, we will no longer keep up with testing and contact tracing,” Eckerle cautions.
The issue must be actively addressed
Therefore, masks should be required of primary school children. However, it should be combined with other measures such as smaller classes, a combination of face-to-face and digital lessons, and good ventilation.
It is important to teach children how to wear a mask in a child-friendly way. The issue must now be actively addressed, Eckerle demands: “Research schools could be randomly defined and examined to get an idea of what measures were useful.”
The issue remains controversial
Eckerle is supported by the Bernese epidemiologist Christian Althaus (41). Children would probably be infected less often and could transmit the virus less than adults: “But as long as you don’t look closely and get tested, you will only see a few cases. So it would make sense to test children if possible. “
Pediatricians disagree. They do not attribute to children an important role in the spread of the virus. This also corresponds to the line of the Federal Office of Public Health. It says there: “The BAG is working with pediatricians to discuss the issue of testing for children. This is especially true with a view to autumn. “(SDA / dba)
