The Journal of infection
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The Journal of infection · Apr 2021
Observational StudySARS-CoV-2 infections in children following the full re-opening of schools and the impact of national lockdown: Prospective, national observational cohort surveillance, July-December 2020, England.
The reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concern for the safety of staff and students, their families and the wider community. We monitored SARS-CoV-2 infection rates in school-aged children and compared them with adult infection rates before and after schools reopened in England. ⋯ In school-aged children, SARS-CoV-2 infections followed the same trajectory as adult cases and only declined after national lockdown was implemented whilst keeping schools open. Maintaining low community infection rates is critical for keeping schools open during the pandemic.