What should you do if your child catches the coronavirus?

Families across Southwest Florida have questions about COVID-19 and what to do if it hits their homes.

Julie Christian’s three kids and her husband are all staying home, but she says she doesn’t mind if it keeps people safe.

“We just don’t want to be out and about spreading our germs, so we feel like it’s the right thing to do,” she said.

Especially now knowing that a 10-year-old child in Lee County has tested positive for the virus.

According to the latest data, Doctor Thomas Schiller with Lee Health says the virus’s youngest victims should recover.

“In China, the study that they reviewed – none of the children died,” he said.

But to protect the children from getting sick in the first place, Schiller says places where the virus can spread, like schools and day cares, should shut down until the threat has passed.

If you do find yourself at home with a child who develops symptoms similar to COVID-19, what do you do?

“Stay home,” Schiller says. “If it’s just a cold or you don’t know if it’s COVID or not,  but if their symptoms are mild, there’s no treatment. Just regard it as a cold and try not to catch that cold yourself.”

While the CDC recommends isolating sick family members, when it comes to kids, experts and parents both agree that’s not going to happen, so prepare to get sick too.

“The likelihood that you’re going to catch the virus from your child is going to be very high,” Schiller said.

Meanwhile, people like Julie hope that by staying home, her kids and the community can stay safe.

She says she’ll stay at home with her whole crew as long as it takes.

Schiller says if your child starts feeling unwell and needs to see their doctor, take them. He says staff are taking every precaution to make sure it’s a safe place for them to get checked out.