COVID-19: More than one in three children would be asymptomatic – RCI

More than a third of children who contract COVID-19 are said to be asymptomatic, a University of Alberta study reveals.

Notably, the researchers found that young people diagnosed with the virus accounted for only a fraction of those actually infected.

“The public health concern is that there are likely many cases of COVID-19 circulating in the community without people realizing it,” Finlay said in a statement. McAlister, professor at the faculty of medicine and dentistry.

The province of Alberta set a new record on Monday adding 1,733 cases. That follows the two records it broke this weekend with 1,731 new cases on Saturday and 1,608 on Sunday for a total of 15,692 cases as of November 28, the highest in the country.

Meanwhile, Alberta, with a population of 4.4 million, tops the list of new active cases per 100,000 population.

The study analyzed the results of 2,463 children who were tested during the first wave of the pandemic, between March and September 2020.

A total of 1,987 children tested positive for COVID-19 and 476 tested negative. Of the children who tested positive, 714-35.9% reported being asymptomatic.

“It goes back to safe school programs,” McAlister said.

In light of these findings, the professor agrees with Prime Minister Jason Kenney’s decision to delay the start of the Christmas holidays in schools.

This year, Alberta public schools are sending students home longer than usual during the winter holidays to contain the spread of COVID-19.

On November 24, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced the new dates. (Photo: Jason Franson / The Canadian Press)

Students in grades 7-12 are sent home on Monday and will only continue their online learning until the end of the term on December 20. Younger students will continue their lessons in person until December 18th.

All public schools are also postponing the start of frontal lessons to 11 January 2021. The first week of school of the new year will be online only.

“As far as we know, children are less likely to spread the disease than adults, but the risk is not zero,” McAlister said. “Presumably the asymptomatic diffusers are less contagious than the person sitting next to sneeze on you, but we’re not sure.”

Beware of COVID-19 related symptoms

During their research, the University of Alberta team also found that although cough, runny nose, and sore throat are three of the most common symptoms in children infected with COVID-19, they were actually slightly more common in those whose COVID-19 test results were negative and therefore not predictive of a positive test.

This indicates that it is best to rely on other symptoms such as loss of taste and smell, fever or nausea to detect the presence of the virus in a child, says Professor McAlister.

Although cough, runny nose, and sore throat are three of the most common symptoms in children with COVID-19, they are not reliable indicators. (Photo: iStock)

He also added that another study by his team shows that “sore throats and a runny nose are also not reliable signs of COVID-19 in adults, although the vast majority of adults (84%) show symptoms.”

“A sore throat and runny nose means you have some type of upper respiratory infection, but fever, headache, and loss of taste or smell are the main things that indicate a person may have COVID-19 rather that another viral upper respiratory infection, “the professor said, adding that nausea and vomiting were not as severe in adults as in children.

For Professor McAlister, the problem lies in people who don’t realize they have the virus and continue to socialize, thus spreading the disease. They should follow health guidelines such as wearing a protective mask, washing their hands frequently, keeping their distance and avoiding meeting in the house, he concludes.

With information from CBC and the University of Alberta.