Why Your Kids' Playground Is Unsafe During COVID-19 Pandemic
TUESDAY, April 7, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- It's a tough task, but parents need to keep kids away from playgrounds, shared toys and sports equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, experts emphasize.
The coronavirus can stick around on surfaces for a long time, a recent New England Journal of Medicine study found.
It takes 72 hours for the virus to become undetectable on plastic, according to the study, about 48 hours on stainless steel and cardboard, and eight hours on copper.
Even if kids are practicing social distancing on the playground, they're still touching the same surfaces as all the other kids, noted Samiksha Raut, an associate professor of biology at University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"Kids are constantly moving from one part of the playground to another and are quite prone to touching their faces -- nose, eyes, etc., at intervals," she said in a university news release. "Therefore, if they happen to touch an object with the novel coronavirus, the chances of getting infected are very high."
Though their illness is apt to be mild, kids can still be active carriers of COVID-19 before any symptoms emerge. "Above all, given their ages, they do not understand the importance of social distancing and, hence, should be actively supervised by parents and/or caretakers," Raut said.
She advised parents and other caregivers to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
Make sure kids wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
Keep kids away from any family member who is sick with the virus and quarantined.
Periodically clean and disinfect high-touch surface areas like tabletops, chairs, remote controls, doorknobs, toilets and light switches.
Launder plush toys and stuffed animals in the washing machine. Wash kids' clothes separately from those of family members who are in quarantine.
More information
The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on the new coronavirus.
SOURCE: University of Alabama at Birmingham, news release, March 25, 2020