Coronavirus Sydney: Delta strain ‘big worry’ for children, more infectious
There are fears for thousands of students across Sydney as the highly infectious Delta variant hits schools in the city’s eastern suburbs.
National
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There are growing concerns over the risk of the Delta variant to children as confirmed Covid-19 cases at three Sydney schools have sent thousands of students into isolation.
More than 1300 students and staff at Rose Bay Secondary College in Sydney’s eastern suburbs have been told to self-isolate after a student tested positive to the virus, with further children affected after a separate case was confirmed at Bellevue Hill Kids Club.
The cases come after four students tested positive to the highly infectious strain at South Coogee Public School and one student returned a positive test at Emmanuel School in Randwick.
Now, health authorities are re-examining their advice for schools over concerns the Delta variant is more transmissible.
Professor Nick Talley, editor of the Medical Journal of Australia, told 2GB’s Ben Fordham the new variant changed the risk level of children attending schools.
“Clearly this is a big worry because we felt schools were not at such a big risk with the original virus, although there was still a risk. But now with Delta, this may be a different situation,” he said on Tuesday.
“In the UK, there’s no doubt that young people are being affected by the virus. The only piece of good news is the rates of hospitalisation in the UK in children with Covid have not actually risen.
“So while children may get the virus and transmit the virus and they can get sick, the risk of serious outcomes, like hospitalisation, at least so far, doesn’t seem to be as bad as we might have feared.”
The strain appears to be more transmissible across all age groups, including children, and is a cause for concern among experts. However, it is not believed to be any more contagious among children than other age groups.
“We are seeing outbreaks in countries like Israel set off from the Delta strain spreading in schools,” Dr Andrew Miller, an anaesthetist and president of the WA branch of the Australian Medical Association, told the ABC.
“There’s no reason to think that Australia will be any different.”
With thousands of students in Sydney forced into isolation, NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said there were queries from parents and carers over what to do if their child contracted the virus.
“There is a plan developed – a bit depends on the age and dependence of the child, but it’s very much a tailored one,” Dr Chant said on Monday.
“The considerations are, if you’re all exposed at the same time, what works for you as a family, what are the health conditions of the people that may be in that household, what is your ability to self-isolate and obviously the age and independence of the child.
“So all of those factors go into how we do a self-isolation plan.”
New studies, tracked by the World Health Organisation (WHO), have revealed that people who get the Delta variant are more likely to use oxygen, go to intensive care units and even die.
The spread of the variant, even in cases of fleeting contact, has prompted WHO to warn that Delta is the most transmissible variant identified so far.
Dr Mike Ryan, director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said exactly how the variant was spread was not yet known, but contact of just a few seconds was enough to transmit the virus.
“The virus may be more efficient at infecting cells and you need less virus to cause an infection,” Dr Ryan said from a media conference in Geneva.
“How much virus do you need to be contaminated by or inhale before you reach a dose that causes you to have an infection? That’s not even known for the previous strains and it’s not fully understood for these newer strains – Delta strain included.”
The Delta variant has been identified in at least 92 countries and accounts for 99 per cent of new Covid cases in the UK.
Originally published as Coronavirus Sydney: Delta strain ‘big worry’ for children, more infectious
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