What Parents Should Know and Do About Coronavirus
It is normal for us parents to go into a panic mode when there is a viral outbreak happening all around the world. According to worldmeter, currently, there are more than 12,583,808 reported cases worldwide, 3,277,859 alone in USA, 561,355 deaths and 7,314,342 recovered from Coronavirus. Brazil, India, Russia and Peru are other countries with very high number of infected cases. Even though these figures have been alarmingly high, surprisingly there are relatively fewer children that have been infected from Coronavirus.
What are the signs and symptoms of Coronavirus?
The symptoms of coronavirus are similar to that of cold and flu such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, body ache, tiredness, sore throat, headache, and pneumonia. So, the symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild cold to pneumonia. It is important for us to understand and differentiate the symptoms of flu, allergy, common cold and coronavirus. However, if you are unsure or have come in contact with anyone infected with the virus, please seek a medical help immediately. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also added some key symptoms related to COVID-19. Please refer to the image below to compare the symptoms of Flu, Common Cold, Allergy and Coronavirus.
How Long Coronavirus survives on different surfaces?
According to the latest paper published by Medrxiv, coronavirus survives on aerosols for 3 hours, on copper for 4 hours, on cardboard for 24 hours and on stainless steel and Polypropylene (plastic) for 72 hours. The surprise element was copper which COVID-19 didn’t find very hospitable compared to steel, cardboard and plastic. So, it is important to use disinfecting wipes that contain alcohol to clean our door handles and surfaces regularly to keep our children safe from the virus.
How Contagious is Coronavirus (Covid-19)?
COVID-19 can spread on touching surfaces contaminated with viruses. However, Coronavirus can survive on these surfaces for a few hours to few days depending on the nature of the surfaces. Further, it can easily be killed by regular disinfectants. Several cases of person to person spreading of this virus have also been reported. The respiratory droplets from an infected person are considered to be mostly responsible for the spreading of this deadly virus.
How can parents protect their children from Coronavirus?
With no vaccine currently available for Covid-19, prevention is the best measure that we, parents, can embrace to protect our children. Following these steps can help you protect your child from getting infected by a coronavirus.
- Keep yourself and children away from sick people or people infected by Coronavirus
- Try not to touch your eyes, nose, and mouth while outside traveling or without washing your hands and teach your children to do the same.
- Avoid direct contact with kids without washing or sanitizing your hands
Teach them to wash their hands regularly and as much as possible - Disinfect the surfaces and items in the house that people touch regularly
- Make sure your child has received the flu vaccine and has completed all the recommended vaccinations for his/her age.
What if my child is infected with COVID-19?
Since the symptoms of coronavirus are very similar to that of common cold, it is very hard to tell without a medical checkup. Also, very few children have actually been infected with Coronavirus. However, you should seek medical help immediately if you feel that it could be coronavirus or if you have come in contact with anyone infected by COVID-19. For the safety of your child and also others, it is better to call the hotline provided before making a visit to the clinic or hospital.
You should also practice regular hand hygiene and encourage your kids to do the same. Also, strictly avoid public places and don’t take your children to childcare or school until they have recovered completely and the healthcare professional has given you a clearance certificate.
Can a pregnant mom pass Coronavirus to her unborn child?
There has been a case in China and England where a newborn baby got infected with the Coronavirus. However, there are no proofs or studies suggesting an infected pregnant mom can pass coronavirus to her unborn child. COVID-19 is compared with SARS and SARS had no record of an infected pregnant mom passing the virus to her unborn child. We will have to wait till more research and studies are conducted on this topic before reaching to a conclusion.
Can a mom infected with the Coronavirus breastfeed the newborn baby?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has no strict guidelines on breastfeeding for moms infected by COVID-19. However, they have also confirmed that in a limited study done so far, no traces of viruses were found in the breast milk. Breast milk is the best source of nutrition and they have recommended moms with flu to continue breastfeeding while being careful about spreading the virus to the newborn baby. We will update the site once CDC has further concrete information on this topic.
What are the chances of patients infected with Coronavirus dying?
Compared to MERS and SARS, which had a mortality rate of 34.4 and 9.6 respectively, Covid-19 currently has a mortality rate of 2.3%. Just in China, the mortality rate in Wuhan was 4.9%, 3.1% in Hubei Province, 0.16% in other provinces and 2.1% nationwide. Also, the fatality rate was very high, 14.8%, among people of age group 80 and higher whereas it was 1.3% in age group of 50, 0.4% in age group of 40 and 0.2% in age group of 10 to 39.
Conclusion
The number of kids infected with Covid-19 being low is excellent news to not just the parents but to the entire population. Kids are more likely to amplify the spread of the virus as it will be hard to get them to follow the hygiene and rules to contain the outbreak. For the time being, the least we can do is wash our hands regularly and encourage our kids to do the same. We will provide you with more regular updates regarding Coronavirus as reliable sources such as CDC come up with more information.
