How should we approach common childhood illnesses in the context of Covid-19?

Advice from a Paediatric infectious diseases consultant

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NO LONGER RELEVANT AND IS NOT BEING UPDATED BUT HAS BEEN LEFT ON THE SITE FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY

This information is sourced from Dr Alicia Demirjian, Paediatric infectious diseases consultant and epidemiologist

Q. Given that children with Covid-19 tend to present with a different profile of symptoms to adults, do you think that GPs should recommend testing for children who don’t meet PHE criteria (e.g. children with runny noses/diarrhoea)?

PHE has considered this and at this time does not recommend testing individuals whose case does not fit the definition
While no case definition is perfect, this will help reduce indiscriminate testing and the unnecessary use of resources
Of course as more evidence is gathered, case definitions will be reviewed and updated as needed

Q. If children present with a febrile illness with an obvious non-Covid 19 source (e.g tonsillitis, UTI etc) do you think they still still need testing for Covid and isolation for family contacts?

It is important for individuals with symptoms of Covid to be tested to help prevent the spread of the illness, as they could have SARS-CoV-2 infection in addition to other illnesses such as tonsillitis and UTI