184,000 children have tested positive since Covid-19 hit SA

More than 180,000 children have tested positive for Covid-19 in SA since March last year.

The latest surveillance report from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) found that 184,187 South Africans under the age of 19 had tested positive for the coronavirus from March 1 last year to June 19 this year.

“ June 19 2021, individuals aged under 19 years made up 13.4% of SARS-CoV-2 tests, 10.2% of laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases, 4.2% of all Covid-19-associated admissions and 0.7% of deaths associated with Covid-19,” the report stated.

There were 1.6 million tests among children during the surveillance period.

The NICD said 11,129 children were hospitalised for Covid-19.

“The incidence of admission among children aged under 19 years was 13.2 times lower (509.9 per one million) than that in those aged over 19 years (6,736.4 per one million).”

The NICD said the rise and decreases in numbers of cases in children did not appear to be directly related to the timing of opening or closing of schools, suggesting schools are not the main drivers of infections in children.