Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), together with other university hospitals in Finland, has prepared guidelines for children at risk in connection with the coronavirus.
These instructions have been published a week before the reopening of schools, scheduled for 14 May.
Hospitals recommend in their press release dropping out of school and daycare only for certain groups of patients. For example, they mentioned children with certain lung and heart diseases, as well as children undergoing cancer treatment or transplantation and certain pediatric neurological patients.
According to the university hospitals these risk groups include less than 1% of students in Finland.
They also pointed out that the doctor caring for the child decides about the child and, if necessary, the siblings staying at home based on an individual assessment.
For coronavirus, the following diseases are classified as risky in children:
1. Lung diseases
* Rare severe lung diseases.
* Lung and muscle diseases in children requiring ventilation support or supplemental oxygen therapy.
* Lung disease with increased pulmonary circulatory resistance (pulmonary hypertension).
* Severely decreased removal of lung mucus (severe bronchiectasis or bronchial dysfunction), exceptionally severe asthma.
2. Heart diseases
* Severe heart failure.
* Pulmonary hypertension.
* Children whose pulmonary circulation is dependent on a shunt (BT shunt, RV-PA shunt)
* Uncut cyanotic Fallot's tetralogy (TOF).
3. Immunosuppressed and other patients
* Children receiving chemotherapy or other strong immunosuppressive therapy (cancer treatments, transplanted children, certain neurological patients).
* Severe congenital immune deficiencies.
4. Pediatric neurological patients
* Pediatric neurological patients with respiratory failure and/or increased susceptibility to infection.
