Children half as likely as adults to get coronavirus, study says

Under-20s appear 56% less likely to contract Covid-19, preliminary evidence suggests

• Coronavirus - latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Children are about half as likely as adults to become infected with coronavirus, according to scientists who reviewed data gathered by contact tracing and population screening studies around the world.

The study, which will feed into the debate on when to open schools, found that children and young adults under the age of 20 appear 56% less likely to contract the virus than the over-20s, a finding that supports the idea that children are unlikely to play a major role in spreading the disease.