In a review article Covid-19 in Child : An ample review published in the journal Risk Management and Health Policy author Ioana M Ciuca writes: “COVID-19 in 0.39–12.3% of children. Clinical signs and symptoms are comparable to those in adults, but milder forms and a large percentage of asymptomatic carriers are found among children. Elevated inflammatory markers are associated with complications and linked to various co-infections.”

In the CNN Health, reporters Jacqueline Howard and Sandee LaMotte write citing a recent study in Korea that children can carry coronavirus in their noses and throats for weeks even if they don’t show any symptoms.

We know that children often show few or no symptoms of COVID-19. We also know they are not immune to this virus, and they can become very sick. Testing exposed individuals who may not yet show symptoms of COVID-19 is crucial to contact tracing, which helps identify and support other people who are at risk of infection

Dr. Sally Goza, President of American Academy of Pediatrics (source: CNN)

The Korean study published the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, suggested that even mild and moderately affected children remain symptomatic for long periods of time.

• Clinical Characteristics and Viral RNA Detection in Children With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Republic of Korea
• Kids can carry coronavirus in respiratory tract for weeks

The study authors found that “genetic material from the virus was detectable in the children for a mean of 17.6 days overall. Even in the children who had no symptoms, the virus was detectable for 14 days on average. It’s also possible that the virus remained in the children even longer, because the date of initial infection wasn’t identified.”

Dr. Roberta DeBiasi and Dr. Meghan Delaney of Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC write in the JAMA Prediatrics editorial:

A surveillance strategy that tests only symptomatic children will fail to identify children who are silently shedding virus while moving about their community and schools. In regions where use of face masks is not widely accepted or used by the general public, asymptomatic carriers may serve as an important reservoir that may facilitate silent spread through a community.

“Without data and transparency, science and medical professionals are hampered — and families are harmed — as we lack information that helps us understand how easily this virus can be transmitted to others and how to stop it,” Dr Sally Goza told CNN.