Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May;25(21):2000903.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.21.2000903.

No evidence of secondary transmission of COVID-19 from children attending school in Ireland, 2020

Affiliations

No evidence of secondary transmission of COVID-19 from children attending school in Ireland, 2020

Laura Heavey et al. Euro Surveill. 2020 May.

Abstract

As many countries begin to lift some of the restrictions to contain COVID-19 spread, lack of evidence of transmission in the school setting remains. We examined Irish notifications of SARS-CoV2 in the school setting before school closures on 12 March 2020 and identified no paediatric transmission. This adds to current evidence that children do not appear to be drivers of transmission, and we argue that reopening schools should be considered safe accompanied by certain measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-Cov2; paediatric; school; transmission.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Comment in

References

    1. World Health Organisation (WHO). WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Geneva: WHO; March 2020. [Accessed 15 May 2020]. Available from: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-...
    1. Cohen SA, Chui KK, Naumova EN. Influenza vaccination in young children reduces influenza-associated hospitalizations in older adults, 2002-2006. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011;59(2):327-32. 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.03271.x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Xu X, Liu X, Wu Y, ALI ST. Close contacts and household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in China: a content analysis based on local Heath Commissions' public disclosures. medRxiv 2020.03.02.20029868; (Preprint). https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.02.20029868 - DOI
    1. Bayham J, Fenichel EP. Impact of school closures for COVID-19 on the US health-care workforce and net mortality: a modelling study. Lancet Public Health. 2020;5(5):e271-8. 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30082-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van Lancker W, Parolin Z. COVID-19, school closures, and child poverty: a social crisis in the making. Lancet Public Health. 2020;5(5):e243-4. 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30084-0 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources