Covid transmission from child to child minimal: Medical Specialist

• Parents should not be afraid to send their children to school
• If there was a Covid infected child in a classroom, there is less possibility for all other children in the same class to contract the virus

By Ajith Siriwardana

The possibility of transmitting Covid-19 from child to child or from child to an adult was minimum, a medical specialist said yesterday. 

Paediatric Respiratory Specialist Dr. Channa de Silva at Lady Ridgeway Children's Hospital told reporters that parents should not be afraid to send their children to school.

He said it was important to reopen schools as it was crucial not only for academic activities but for the child’s development in all aspects.

“The possibility of contracting Covid-19 from child to child or from child to an adult is minimum. If there was a Covid infected child in a classroom, there is less possibility for all other children in the same class to contract the virus. Only a few students who associate with the child closely might contract the virus,” he said.

Dr. De Silva said if parents’ trained the children to follow health practices properly and if proper monitoring takes place in school also, the chance of children getting infected with the virus at school was minimum.