A new horizon after restarting school activity? Study of 45 cases of covid-19 in a primary care center

Introduction: since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, it has been observed that children around the world do not seem vulnerable to the infection, but almost all the data was collected during periods of school closure and firm measures of social distance. The fear of a collapse of health systems leads governments to maintain global restrictive policies that can do more harm than good, especially for children and their families. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the epidemiological role of children in this pandemic, in daily living conditions, after the reopening of schools and the increase in their physical and social contacts.

Methods: the analysis of 45 consecutive cases diagnosed of COVID-19 between weeks 34 to 44 of 2020 –which includes the first two months after restanting school activity– collected in an urban Primary Care in the Community of Madrid is presented.

It is found that children present mild and nonspecific symptoms and barely transmit the infection in their immediaty environment, as has been shown in other studies published since the beginning of 2020.

Conclusion: Primary Care is a privileged platform to observe in real conditions the role that children play in the dynamics of infection. It is urgent to carry out extensive population studies in order to confirm the low contagiousness of children, since the restriction of their movements and social relationships can cause more harm than good, at different levels.