ABSTRACT
During spring 2020, schools all over the world closed and countries went into lock down. Sweden stood out as an exception to this general rule. Schools year 0–9 (age 6–15) were not closed a single day during that first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Simultaneously children were not tested (unless hospitalized), which meant identifying cases and their contacts was impossible. Schools were instructed to try to make children keep distance to each other, encourage hand washing and children were told to stay at home when sick. Facemasks and other non-pharmaceutical interventions were not recommended. People worked under the impression that children did not get sick from Covid-19 and that they didn’t contribute to the transmission of the disease.
In Sweden there is a law that says all children must be physically present in school. This law was enforced during the first 1.5 years of the pandemic, even for children from a family with someone in a risk group. At the same time, children from families with confirmed Covid-19 were required to physically attend school up until 1 December 2020.
In this chapter, the situations arising from these policies are discussed, reflecting especially on the consequences it has had on children and their health. The chapter investigates the origins of the assumption that children do not get sick and do not transmit the disease.
