Parents of kids with Covid-19 urged to avoid going to hospital as most can recover at home

SINGAPORE - When Ally's 13-month-old son developed a high fever on Sunday morning (Feb 13) and would not stop crying, her husband took him to the emergency department at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) around 6am.

He described the place as a "war zone", full of children who had tested positive for Covid-19 or were suspected to have the virus.

Ally, who declined to use her real name, said her son later tested positive through a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

She added: "My husband and son left the hospital at around 11am after the PCR test. The doctor also ordered a urine test... My boy was not well in the hospital and was crying."

The Straits Times understand that both public hospitals able to provide specialised care for children - KKH and the National University Hospital (NUH) - have seen a spike in visits to their children's emergency department in recent weeks as Covid-19 cases climb.

Although the Omicron variant tends to cause less severe illness than its predecessor, scientists believe more children are reporting sick because the virus is better at evading their innate defences and causing symptoms.

On Wednesday, Singapore's director of medical services Kenneth Mak reiterated that most children do not require hospitalisation or admission to community treatment facilities, and can safely recover at home.

He also urged Singaporeans of all ages to stay away from accident and emergency (A&E) departments unless specifically instructed to do so. People who have tested positive for Covid-19 should visit a test centre if they need official confirmation of their results, or go to a primary care doctor if they feel unwell.

"Although our hospitals and polyclinics are still coping with the increased number of patients presently, we seek the public's cooperation to ensure that our primary care clinics and A&E departments can focus on and prioritise care for those with more urgent conditions," Associate Professor Mak said.

He also observed that infection numbers among children had increased significantly. In December last year, there were 1,100 cases of Covid-19 reported in children under 12. By January, this had gone up to about 7,200. And in the first two weeks of February, Singapore reported more than 13,000 cases in this age group.

NUH said it has seen an increase in visits to its children's emergency department over the past two weeks. Most children had mild symptoms, and fewer than 10 per cent were admitted for further treatment and observation. On average, those admitted were discharged after two to three days.

This rush has caused "unnecessary but significant strain" on the department, said Dr Kao Pao Tang, who heads the children's emergency department at NUH's Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute.

He urged parents to refrain from taking their children to the emergency department even if they have tested positive for Covid-19.

They should do so only if their children develop serious symptoms, such as excessive drowsiness, difficulty breathing due to airway inflammation, or risk of dehydration due to vomiting or poor dietary intake.

Other patients should see general practitioners so that the emergency department can focus on sicker patients, Dr Kao said.

Associate Professor Thoon Koh Cheng, who heads KKH’s infectious disease service in the paediatrics department, said fewer than 5 per cent of young Covid-19 patients at the A&E department are eventually admitted, and the spike in visitors has led to longer than usual wait times.

The proportion of children hospitalised with Covid-19 also increased threefold between the last week of December and the first week of February, he added.
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A parent of a nine-month-old boy said she visited KKH's emergency department on Sunday night, after her son tested positive for Covid-19 and developed a fever which did not subside after two days.

She did so because the family could not find a clinic that was open and able to do testing for infants, said the 38-year-old sales director, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Chin.

"We were there for 2½ hours... They were very busy but very efficient," she added. "It's honestly not that bad."