Source: CNA
Hospitalizations of children with Covid-19 have doubled compared with two weeks ago, according to the Director of the Makarios hospital's pediatrics clinic, Dr. Avraam Elia.
Around one in three children being treated at the Makarios hospital were due to Covid-19, he added.
“It usually concerns small children, under the age of the five, though we also have older children, but it is usually the younger ones that may present with high fever, loss of appetite, or are feeling unwell,” Dr. Elia told CNA. Some children, he added, may even have febrile seizures.
According to Dr. Elia, hospitalizations of children with Covid-19 have doubled compared with two weeks ago when they were treating only around five cases.
He said they were now dealing with the greatest number of hospitalizations in relation to Covid-19 so far. “Today we are treating 10 children”, he noted. Yesterday, he added, they were treating 11 children with Covid-19 which was the greatest number so far.
Responding to a question on the Omicron variant, Dr. Elia said that it was detected in six of the 21 samples they sent for genomic sequencing. Four of these six samples concerned infants, he said.
Dr. Elia pointed out that children with Covid-19 are only hospitalized if they have symptoms such as high fever, or if their overall condition is affected. Infants are hospitalized if they show signs of decreased appetite, dehydration or gastrointestinal disorders and older children if they have symptoms such as persistent fever or difficulty in breathing or chest pain.
