UK Official: transmission from children to adults low

A top UK scientist said on Monday that evidence from around the world suggests that children do not pass on the new coronavirus to adults as much as they do with seasonal flu.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street briefing, the deputy chief medical officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said experts agreed, despite "pretty sparse" data, that with regards to their ability to transmit the virus to adults, children were not "these kind of big high output transmitters as they are with flu."

He said most children displayed "extremely mild" symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and that the rate of infection rate among them was the same as in adults, although possibly a bit lower in very young children.

His comments come as disagreements continue between the UK government and teaching unions over when children should go back to school.