Coronavirus: Rise in hospital admissions for children

Doctors at Makarios children’s hospital have warned against complacency saying Covid admissions among younger age groups have risen with the potential of causing life-threatening complications.

The head of the hospital’s paediatric department, Avraam Elia, confirmed a rise in admissions of children with Covid, ranging between two months and 14-years-old.

“I believe it is linked to the virus’ increased activity in the community, especially in young ages,” Elia said.

He said five children treated for Covid at the hospital in the past week have been discharged leaving a 14-year-old who was expected to leave in the next couple of days.

“In general, it is an unusual phenomenon to see so many coronavirus admissions at this time of year,” he said.

He attributed it to the fact that adolescents have a busier social life, which raised the risk of transmission.

Six of the children recently admitted, however, did not have serious symptoms. Of the 100 children treated at Makarios for Covid since the start of the pandemic, only nine were in serious condition, he said.

Despite the mild symptoms, doctors were concerned over possible complications to children.

He was referring to the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), which is thought to be related to Covid-19, and which usually affects one in 160 children.

MIS-C, causes prolonged fever, inflammation in the body, and affects one or more organ systems. The syndrome usually appears between two and six weeks later.

There have been eight MIS-C cases in Cyprus, four of which needed ICU.