CDC: More than 50% of children with COVID-19 don’t have a fever

Doctors say many children with the coronavirus might not have any symptoms at all, and can still spread the virus if they are asymptomatic.

News 12 Staff

Sep 22, 2020, 7:53 PM

Updated 1,445 days ago

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The Centers to Disease Control and Prevention says more than 50% of children who test positive for COVID-19 don't have a fever.
Doctors say many children with the coronavirus might not have any symptoms at all and can still spread the virus if they are asymptomatic.
However, a fever is still the most common symptom of COVID-19 in children, according to the CDC. But they could also show other signs of the virus including coughing, runny nose and loss of taste or smell.
"Fever and loss of taste. When you have those two together, the chance of having COVID actually goes up a bit," says Dr. John Zaso. "If you don't have those two or one or the other, it could just be the common cold or things like that. In our screening of children here in the office with the rapid tests, I haven't had one child that was positive here in two months. We've had one adult that was positive."
The CDC says parents should pay close attention to fevers above 100.4 degrees.
"It's not a perfect method, but it's at least one other tool we can use. Somebody with a fever, what that tells us is they shouldn't be at school in the first place," says Zaso.
Zaso says about 85% of children who test positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic. He says the worst for people over 18, but it can be dangerous for children with diabetes.
He says if a child does have a fever, the best course of action is to keep them home from school and take them to see a doctor.