Covid: peak in child hospitalisations in Ostend
Ten children with coronavirus have been hospitalised in Ostend (West Flanders) in the past week. A separate wing was established in the paediatric department of the Damiaan Hospital.
Children have been admitted to hospital with Covid before, but the number of children hospitalised represented a new peak. Most of the children have meanwhile been able to return home.
“At one point seven children were hospitalised at the same time” says Damiaan’s Kevin Mollet. “We decided to set up a separate wing so that they could be treated safely”.
It’s unclear why so many children needed to be admitted at the same time.
“We’ve never experienced this before. We have no explanation. Ages vary and included infants and teenagers. Doctors suspect the hospitalisations are linked to omicron variant, but it’s not sure”.
None of the children were very unwell:
“Most were hospitalised with an infection of the airways that resembled RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, which occurs from time to time at this time of year. When tests were conducted Covid was identified. None of the children were admitted to ICUs. Most were in for observation and could return home after several days”.
Currently, three children are being treated for Covid at Damiaan.Â