The World Council of Churches (WCC) noted Monday that for children, the damage done by quarantines far outweighs any health risks from the coronavirus itself.
“For children, the COVID-19 pandemic is more about the impact of containment measures than a health issue, as such,” the WCC declares on its website. “Confinement may put children at risk for domestic violence and affect their rights to education, care and protection.”
The essay cites Cornelius Williams, associate director and global chief of child protection for UNICEF’s programme division, who said that the impact on children from lockdowns is a “crisis within a crisis, where containment measures pose a serious threat to basic rights, such as education, care, protection, decent living standards and even the right to play with other kids.”
Williams said he is especially concerned about the heightened risk of domestic violence and sexual abuse for children from dysfunctional families.
“Home confinement due to the pandemic may entail a number of risks which in turn leads to emotional instability among exposed children,” Williams said. “Church leaders can help by fostering dialogues in their congregations about positive parenting to support children in their mental growth.”
Last Friday, CNN published an article titled “‘Reassuring’ study finds children have small risk of death and severe illness from coronavirus,” which noted that according to recent studies “severe illness and death remain rare in children with Covid-19.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its online coronavirus index last week, offering new data regarding whom the coronavirus affects most.
The CDC observed that out of 161,392 coronavirus deaths in the United States since the initial outbreak, only 330 victims — or 0.2 percent — were less than 25 years old.