The widely held unproven claim that children were largely immune to Covid-19 infection due to their strong immune system is beginning to crumble.
This is because reports emanating from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi indicated that the virus was now infecting a number of children.
Prof. Sampson Antwi, Head of Child Health Directorate, KATH, said children as young as 11 days old had been infected with the virus and said it was a cause for concern.
He said new infections in the virus were being recorded in the hospital on a daily basis and so far more children were strangely being infected.
In the last 10 days, nine children in the hospital, he said, had tested positive for Covid-19 and their ages ranged between 11 days and 14 years olds.
Prof. Antwi said KATH was even struggling to have adequate space to house the young Covid-19 patients, and it was creating problems.
“Children were said to be spared of the virus. We had 14 the whole of last year but this year, just the spate of 10 days, we got nine positive cases.
“If less than two weeks we are getting nine cases, we don’t know where we are going to go and we are already full,” he disclosed with strong concern.
Prof. Antwi told the media that the new Covid-19 strain being recorded seemed to be targeting children more than the elderly, which he said looked strange to him.
“The Covid-19 strain that we are having now is also affecting children seriously,” he lamented, adding that KATH was under huge pressure now.
He bemoaned that KATH could no longer admit general cases, “We are not even in the position to bring new cases. I don’t mean Covid-19,” adding, “Anybody who is sick, when you come here we will just treat you in front of the hospital, probably in an ambulance that you came in with.”
He added that “if there’s something that we need to do for you, we can do to stabilize you and send you back because our wards are full.”
Prof. Antwi called for an immediate treatment centre for children with Covid-19, in order to help health professionals to treat such cases.
“There are ongoing talks with the Regional Health Directorate to create a treatment centre for children with Covid-19,” he disclosed.