Where have all the children gone? Decreases in paediatric emergency department attendances at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020

On Wednesday, 11 March 2020, the WHO declared a global pandemic of COVID-191—the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.2 While the body of knowledge around the virus and the disease it causes grows on a daily basis, relatively little is known about the course of COVID-19 in children and young people (CYP; defined here as those under the age of 16 years).3

If the epidemiology of the pandemic in the UK follows that of countries with similar demographics and healthcare provision, it is likely that the burden of disease will fall predominantly on older age groups.4 Although CYP can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, it appears that they are mainly asymptomatic or experience mild symptoms,3 resulting in a much smaller number of COVID-19 related emergency department (ED) attendances in those under...