Hospitalisation Of Children With Sars-Cov-2 On The General Paediatric Ward: Coping With A Persistent Pandemic

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends considering admitting patients with SARS-CoV-2 virus to a dedicated ward.1 These guidelines are problematic for children as the number of children admitted with COVID-19 during the pandemic is small compared with adults, and in clinical practice, many children who test positive for the virus are hospitalised for non-COVID-19-related reasons. Admission to the general paediatric ward may be the better option.\n\nWe examined the number of infections among staff and patients during and after hospitalisation to a general paediatric ward admitting patients with SARS-CoV-2.\n\nOurs is the largest tertiary paediatric hospital in Israel. The hospital policy is to screen all patients and most caregivers of admitted children with SARS-CoV-2. During May to August 2020 (123 days), patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 were placed in isolation rooms in the paediatric …