Children in the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health service (oGD) Data and reflections from Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Background The measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have severely restricted the opportunities for the development of children. This paper will discuss the reporting data of children and the public health department's activities against the background of the restrictions of school and leisure time offers as well as sports and club activities. Materials and methods Reporting data from Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, were obtained using a SURVStat query for the calendar weeks 10/2020-28/2021 and from SURVNet (until 30 June 2021). Contact persons (CP) of SARS-CoV-2 positive persons from schools and daycare centers were screened for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR test. These results and those of rapid antigen testing, which has been mandatory for schoolchildren since April 2021, are presented. Results Until Easter break, the age-related seven-day incidence values per 100,000 for children 14 years of age and younger were lower than the overall incidence; it was only higher after rapid antigen-testing was mandatory for schoolchildren. Most children with SARS-CoV-2 had no or mild symptoms; hospitalization was rarely required and no deaths occurred. Contact tracing in schools and daycare centers found no positive contacts in most cases and rarely more than two. Larger outbreaks did not occur. Conclusion SARS-CoV-2 infections in children appear to be less frequent and much less severe than in adults. Hygiene rules and contact management have proven themselves effective during times with high incidences in the local population without mandatory rapid antigen testing - and even with a high proportion of variants of concern (alpha and delta variants) in Germany. Against this background, further restriction of school and daycare operations appears neither necessary nor appropriate.

Automated summary

This study analyzed reporting data of children in Frankfurt and found that SARS-CoV-2 infections in children are less frequent and less severe than in adults. The study also showed that hygiene rules and contact tracing measures have been effective in preventing large outbreaks, even in the presence of variants of concern.