“15 month old child and covid?”

The child was already exposed and as long as the adults are able to care for that child, it is best to stay with the parent.

Hi,
So we usually don’t separate parents from kids in those situations. Child has already been exposed before your test turned out to be positive. Do your best to wash hands and maybe wear a mask at home but at this point, separation from a child would not make any difference. If the child gets COVID it will likely present as flu like symptoms and most of healthy children recover fast. Get well soon!

Yes, just because you all have already been sharing the same space and wouldn’t want to risk someone else getting sick from COVID. Although, the child may be negative now, those results could change. So it’s best for everyone who have shared the space together already to stay together during the quarantine process.

Thanks for the question.
Unfortunately, if any household member is positive for Covid, all members must be quarantined, including the child. Since the child is already exposed and cannot quarantine alone, there is no place safe to send the child, unless you know of one. Use best possible precautions at home, including masks, handwriting, and minimizing contact. Retest the child after all other household members are more than 2 weeks after onset.
I wish you all well.

I think most physicians feel that since the child has already been exposed, he should just stay home with parents. Children do not understand being away from their parents for 10-14 weeks and likely this anxiety will be more detrimental than covid is at this age group. But do keep alert for symptoms and watch especially for any respiratory distress.

I’m not sure what the last part of your question means, but most 15-month-old children, since they cannot provide for themselves, live with at least one adult, who provides care. In the event that that adult (or two adults, as the case may be) contracts Covid, the toddler doesn’t have much of a choice but to remain in that home. The parents (or caregivers) should take all precautions to protect the child from spread (frequent hand washing, masking even in their own home, etc.), but a toddler must be provided for.

Maybe the last sentence is you are wondering whether a 15-month-old who was hospitalized for some reason should be discharged to the care of providers who are sick with Covid? That’s a tougher question, but generally speaking, hospitals can’t continue to provide care to patients who are recovered because insurance companies will not continue to pay and because the beds are needed for children who are sicker and need inpatient care. In that situation, if there were grandparents who were not sick who could care for the child, that might be ideal, but if no other caregiver exists, I don’t know that the doctor/hospital would have any other choice than to discharge the toddler to his/her own caregivers. Sometimes there is no perfect situation and we just have to make the best of things.

Randall Fisher, M.D.

Hello

Yes but the two adults should be isolated from the 15 month old for two weeks.