Kids and COVID-19: What two new studies show about the spread of the virus

(NBC) — NBC News’ Chief Medical Correspondent Doctor John Torres has new information on children and coronavirus. Torres points to recent studies on the susceptibility of children to the virus and how they can pass it on to other people.

“As a matter of fact, a new study out of Germany finds kids who have the virus may be just as infectious, or sometimes even more contagious, than adults,” says Torres. “Plus, a new study from China suggests kids come into contact with three times the number of people as adults do when they are back at school.”

Torres goes on to say that the number of people children encounter is important because many kids show no signs of having the virus and can pass it on to others without knowing.

“That information should be taken into account by schools and camps looking to open their doors,” according to Torres. “It should also be a consideration made by parents thinking about taking kids to visit grandparents.”

While Torres admits that school closures are not enough to stop the outbreak, it could help limit the spread of COVID-19.

“We are still in the early phases of investigating how this new virus affects kids and how they transmit it, but these studies shed some light on children’s role in the spread of the virus and what we can do to slow it down and hopefully stop it,” concludes Torres.

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