Child deaths from coronavirus ‘very low’, European researchers find

The vast majority of children who get Covid-19 have only mild symptoms, and fewer than one in 100 die from it, but some do need intensive care, study finds

A small number with other respiratory infections were much more likely than those just with Covid-19 to need intensive care support – a warning for flu season

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A new Europe-wide study has revealed that fewer than one in 100 children who test positive for Covid-19 end up dying – although a small but significant percentage develop severe illness. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 11:15pm, 26 Jun 2020Updated: 4:26am, 27 Jun 2020

Fewer than one in 100 children who test positive for Covid-19 end up dying, a Europe-wide study has shown. A small but significant percentage do develop severe illness, it found.

A team of researchers led by experts in Britain, Austria and Spain looked at the outcomes of nearly 600 children under 18 infected with the novel coronavirus and found that only a quarter had pre-existing medical conditions.

This is in sharp contrast to adults, among whom the vast majority of patients have underlying health problems.

The team found that more than 60 per cent of Covid-19 positive children required hospital treatment, and that eight per cent needed intensive care. Of the 582 children studied, just four died. On the other hand, more than 90 children, or 16 per cent, showed no symptoms at all.

More than 60 per cent of Covid-19 positive children required hospital treatment and eight per cent needed intensive care. Photo: Getty Images

Marc Tebruegge, from University College London’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, says that while the results shouldn’t be extrapolated for the general population, they were nevertheless reassuring.