Children do not appear to play an important role in spreading coronavirus, public health institute RIVM said on Wednesday, after studying 54 families in which one or more members had Covid-19.

The virus would appear to be mainly spread between adults of similar age and while children do get infected, this happens less often than with adults, the RIVM said in an article in medical magazine Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde.  Parents, the research showed, are more likely to infect their children than the other way round.

‘When it comes to flu, children often give the disease to each other or to adults, but that would appear to be far less common with coronavirus,’ the agency said.

The research is continuing with a second group of 50 families which have a child who has tested positive for the virus, rather than a healthcare worker, as was the case in the first project.

School

Meanwhile, a primary school in The Hague is closing its doors again after two teachers tested positive for coronavirus.

The Springbok school has two locations in the city and a total of some 500 children. The teachers have been home since developing symptoms last weekend.

Seven children who have symptoms of coronavirus will now be tested to find out if they have picked up the virus.

Primary schools reopened partially on May 11 and will reopen fully next Monday. Secondary schools opened partially on Tuesday.