Are children in COVID lockdown safe from the Delta strain and what can they do?
School holidays and COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney tend to go hand-in-hand, with the latest lockdown starting just in time for the the full two-week winter term break. Key points: Data from overseas suggests the Delta variant is spreading quickly through schools and more children are becoming infected  Data from overseas suggests the Delta variant is spreading quickly through schools and more children are becoming infected The reasons why are not properly understood yet, and it doesn't necessarily mean the Delta variant poses more of a risk to them  The reasons why are not properly understood yet, and it doesn't necessarily mean the Delta variant poses more of a risk to them School holiday daycare is considered an essential service so NSW kids in lockdown can attend, while public playgrounds are open  Travel plans were again cancelled as stay-at-home orders came into place across Greater Sydney from midnight on Friday, and parents found themselves asking the familiar question of what to do with the kids during a housebound holiday. But what differs from lockdowns past is that New South Wales is facing an outbreak of the more infectious Delta strain, which Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said is spreading with "scarily fleeting" contact. On Sunday, Ms Berejiklian announced 30 new COVID-19 cases, warning that the number of cases will likely increase this week. Childcare deemed 'essential'  Parents will be relieved to know that they can still send their children to daycare as it's deemed "essential," New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed on Saturday. School holiday vacation care can also operate with COVID safety measures in place. "I think that most people with little kids would know that that is essential," Mr Hazzard said on Saturday. Public playgrounds will also remain open, but experts warn parents should exercise more caution than usual. Playgrounds remain open across NSW but experts warn about transmission risks of the more infectious Delta variant. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner  Although masks are not mandatory outdoors, epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely said airborne transmission needs to be considered. "If you're pushing your child on a swing and there's aerosol in the air, well then you've got yourself a risk," he said. He also advised to wipe down surfaces, saying that though he can only speculate, "we assume it's [the Delta variant] more infectious on surfaces but probably far more infectious  relatively speaking  than aerosol." South Australian-based epidemiologist Adrian Esterman also warned that parents may want to reconsider potential playground mingling. "During the current outbreak in NSW, I think it would be sensible to keep kids away from people outside the family including other kids, and to wear masks if they do go out," he said. Early in the week, a number of children had been linked to a COVID cluster in Bondi, which on Sunday stood at 110 cases. Experts say the variant appears to be more transmissible across all age groups, so that obviously includes children. Andrew Miller, an anaesthetist and president of the WA branch of the Australian Medical Association, said it was understandable parents were worried about the Delta strain. "We are seeing outbreaks in countries like Israel set off from the Delta strain spreading in schools," he said. "There's no reason to think that Australia will be any different." Scientists believe the Delta strain is more contagious in all age groups than previous strains, but say it is not necessarily more transmissible in kids. "The predilection [for the virus] to attack children is probably the same as it is in adults," Dr Miller said. According to a recent report in the BMJ, the virus is now spreading rapidly through primary and secondary schools in the UK. Further, there are reports from the USA that children are being increasingly hospitalised because of the virus. At this stage, we dont know whether children are more susceptible to the Delta variant, or simply more at risk because they have not been vaccinated and tend to socialise more. Dr Miller shares that sentiment, saying there needed to be more data before we could say with any certainty if children were at greater risk. "We don't have enough information yet that's reliable to say the disease [caused by the Delta strain] is more severe in terms of hospitalisation and death  but that will only come with time," Dr Miller said. Daycare is considered an essential service so children can attend during lockdown. ( ABC North Queensland: Nathalie Fernbach  Virologist Dr Kirsty Short said there could be other factors, like adults who are working from home versus children who are going to schools. "There are lots and lots of compounding variables." A study from Imperial College London that is yet to be peer-reviewed suggested other possibilities. "The observed patterns may reflect increased social interactions among children and young adults as schools remain open and lockdown eases, as well as high vaccine uptake among older people." Children and COVID  When the pandemic first hit last year, a popular theory was children couldn't catch COVID. That turned out to be false but it is true that many don't get seriously unwell. But some children do get symptoms and a minority of cases can go on to get a serious inflammatory condition. Dr Miller said Australia needed to devise a plan to vaccinate children, as there was no real reason they couldn't be vaccinated like older people. "Unless we get 80 per cent of people over the age of 12 vaccinated, we will need to vaccinate younger children as well."