Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary Jones urged parents not to rush to get a coronavirus test for their children, amid a shortage
He advised parents not to immediately take their children out of school if their child, or a classmate, had either of the above symptoms.
Hilary also said the tests needed to be kept for those who really needed them, amid an increase in people asking for one – with there now being a mass shortage amid fears of a second wave.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Friday, he was asked by host Alex Beresford about whether parents should send their kids to school if they have a cold.
Hilary went on to claim that other symptoms were what parents should be looking out for, as children cough “all the time” anyway.
He advised them not to rush to get a test unless they had any of the “significant” symptoms.
Hilary said on the show: “There is no doubt lots of children being sent home with coughs, which are clearly not associated with Covid.
The guidance is that typical symptoms of Covid is a dry, new continuous cough. All children cough.
“Any parent knows they cough all the time, when they have a drink, if they get dust in their airways, if they have a runny nose or sniffles and mucus runs down the back of their throat, they cough if they have allergies
They cough all the time, you can’t send every child home who has a cough that is not continuous.
What we mean by a continuous cough is a cough that lasts for perhaps several minutes, and three or four times a day during a 24-hour period, or a cough every couple of minutes in an hour.
“So a completely new and different cough to what you normally have.”
Hilary went on: “What we do know is in children, symptoms are somewhat different to that in adults so if they also have a fever that would be more significant, if they have also had a loss in taste or smell that would be more significant.”
Dr Hilary also revealed that from the NHS symptoms tracker app, it’s been discovered that children often don’t even have a cough when they have coronavirus.
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Dr Hilary Jones has urged parents to consider the listed coronavirus symptoms in children, before rushing to get tests amid a shortage.
With numbers of children thought to be staying away from school due to having a cough or a runny nose, amid fears of Covid-19 spreading, Dr Hilary was quick to point out children who have the virus don’t often have a cough.
He advised parents not to immediately take their children out of school if their child, or a classmate, had either of the above symptoms.
Hilary also said the tests needed to be kept for those who really needed them, amid an increase in people asking for one – with there now being a mass shortage amid fears of a second wave.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Friday, he was asked by host Alex Beresford about whether parents should send their kids to school if they have a cold.
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Hilary went on to claim that other symptoms were what parents should be looking out for, as children cough “all the time” anyway.
He advised them not to rush to get a test unless they had any of the “significant” symptoms.
Dr Hilary said coughing wasn’t a significant Covid symptom in children (Image: Getty Images/Design Pics RF)
“The guidance is that typical symptoms of Covid is a dry, new continuous cough. All children cough.
“Any parent knows they cough all the time, when they have a drink, if they get dust in their airways, if they have a runny nose or sniffles and mucus runs down the back of their throat, they cough if they have allergies.
“They cough all the time, you can’t send every child home who has a cough that is not continuous.
“What we mean by a continuous cough is a cough that lasts for perhaps several minutes, and three or four times a day during a 24-hour period, or a cough every couple of minutes in an hour.
“So a completely new and different cough to what you normally have.”
Hilary went on: “What we do know is in children, symptoms are somewhat different to that in adults so if they also have a fever that would be more significant, if they have also had a loss in taste or smell that would be more significant.”
Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary reminded viewers of the Covid-19 symptoms often found with children
Dr Hilary also revealed that from the NHS symptoms tracker app, it’s been discovered that children often don’t even have a cough when they have coronavirus.
He explained: “They discovered children don’t often get the cough, they might get a rash or might be feeling a loss of appetite, they might be feeling fatigued, so these are important symptoms in children as well.
“If my child is running around, eating normally, and has no headache, or has an occasional little cough, I wouldn’t be rushing to get a test right now, especially when you can’t get hold of them.
“They should be prioritised for people who actually need them.”
