COVID-19 and your child’s health

The SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus spreads between people, usually when a sick person coughs or sneezes. You might catch novel coronavirus (COVID-19) if someone with the virus sneezes or coughs onto you. You could also catch the virus if they have coughed or sneezed onto a surface (like a door handle) that you touch, getting the droplets on your hands and then transferring them to your mouth, nose or eyes when you touch your face or eat. Worldwide, most people infected with SARS-CoV-2 have caught the virus from another sick person that lives in their household. This is particularly true for children, in most cases children have caught the virus from an adult within their household who has SARS-Cov-2.

There is no specific treatment for COVID-19 infection. Antibiotics are not effective against viral infections. However, most of the symptoms can be treated with medical care.

There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus).

If your child is unwell with fever, cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath, visit your nearest Fever Clinic for testing.

If you are unsure if your child has symptoms of COVID-19, or if your child has a sudden onset of any COVID-19 symptoms, you should contact your local GP, hospital Emergency Department, or call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84).

Before attending a GP clinic, it is important to phone ahead so they can make appropriate preparations for your visit.

Yes. If you want to breastfeed, this will be supported by your health care team. Breastmilk is best for almost all babies. Breastfeeding helps you and your baby bond together and it also helps protect your baby against infection.

Your decision to breastfeed may involve thinking about your baby’s health, how sick you are and whether you are well enough to care for your baby. Your healthcare team will discuss your individual circumstances and feeding options with you. For more information, read the COVID-19 and breastfeeding fact sheet.

Practising good hand and respiratory hygiene is important to help protect you and your family.

Always remember to:

• clean your hands regularly with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rubs. Ensure you wash your hands after going to the toilet or assisting your children to do so.
• cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or flexed elbow when coughing or sneezing
• avoid contact with anyone who has cold-like symptoms
• keep your children at home from school or childcare if they are unwell
• try to stay at least 1.5 metres away from people coughing or sneezing
• if you or your child are unwell, avoid sharing utensils, cups and glasses.

Yes, it is safe to attend the Queensland Children’s Hospital whether it’s through the Emergency department or for an appointment or planned admission.

However please note, visitor number restrictions have been introduced to protect our patients and staff. Currently, we ask that visitors (including parents and carers) are limited to two per inpatient. For outpatient appointments and visits to the Emergency department, we ask that only one parent/carer accompanies the patient. If possible, accompanying patient siblings should also be limited.

We acknowledge that there may be situations that will need special consideration and ask that you speak with the nurse unit manager in your ward/area about this.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we ask that people do not visit the hospital if they:

• are in self-isolation or subject to a Queensland Government direction to quarantine
• have been overseas or to a designated hotspot within the past 14 days
• have a fever or respiratory symptoms (such as cough, sore throat, runny nose or difficulty breathing)
• have been diagnosed with COVID-19 within the past 14 days, or
• have been in contact with a person who has, or is suspected of having, COVID-19.

When visiting the hospital, please wash your hands regularly and use the hand sanitiser (red and white bottles) located at the hospital entrances, on most counters, ward entries as well as outpatients and Emergency department, practise good respiratory hygiene, and observe social distancing guidelines.

If your child has a planned appointment or admission and is feeling unwell, please contact us via 07 3068 1111 before arriving at the hospital.

We have made some changes to the way we offer outpatient appointments to ensure we can continue to provide safe and timely care for Queensland children and young people during the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic.

For patients and families, these changes may mean:

• ‘Virtual’ consultations’ (via phone or videoconferencing, also known as ‘telehealth’) being offered for outpatient reviews and appointments where it is clinically safe and appropriate to do so.
• Postponement of some non-urgent outpatient appointments.
• Postponement of some non-urgent elective surgeries.

These changes support the important social distancing guidelines now in place across the country, and will help us limit the number of children and parents in the hospital, thereby keeping everyone as safe as possible.

All urgent outpatient reviews and appointments are proceeding (either face-to-face or virtually) at this time.

Our clinical specialists are reviewing all current patient lists and new referrals on a case-by-case basis to determine the best options and/or possible alternative plans for each child. Non-urgent cases will only be postponed where it is clinically safe to do so.

We will contact families directly if there are any changes to their child’s appointments.

If you feel your child requires an urgent clinical review, please contact your GP or the Children’s Health Queensland Outpatient Call Centre on 1300 762 831.

We know these changes may cause disappointment and inconvenience to families and we appreciate your understanding. At this challenging time, we have to ensure we can continue providing safe and timely care to children who need it most.

All urgent surgeries are proceeding as normal at this time.

As part of Children’s Health Queensland’s response to managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have implemented a safe and clinically-led plan to gradually increase the number of elective procedures performed at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Parents/carers will be contacted directly and advised when arrangements for their child’s surgery have been made.

If your child’s surgery has been postponed, and you’re concerned that their condition is getting worse, please contact our Elective Surgery Bookings Office on 07 3068 1125 or your family GP.

We understand that many of our families will be impacted financially by the necessary COVID-19 restrictions imposed on small businesses, retail, hospitality and other industries. Please visit our Patient and Family Transport Hub on Level 6 of the hospital to see if you may be eligible for concessional parking assistance.

Our paediatric specialists are aware of the UK, EU and US reports of a type of inflammatory syndrome affecting small numbers of children infected with SARS-CoV-2, and they are monitoring the situation closely. This syndrome has been called Paediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome – Temporally Associated with SARS-CoV-2 (or PIMS-TS). It has some features that are similar to other rare auto-inflammation diseases, such as Kawasaki disease.

Our infectious diseases specialists are working closely with the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network on hospital-based surveillance across Australia and will continue to provide information and advice for families as it becomes available.

PIMS-TS is an extremely uncommon disease and parents should be assured that there have been very few cases of COVID-19 in children in Queensland, and no cases of PIMS-TS. If your child is unwell and you are worried about their condition, you should seek help from a health professional.