3.1.2 Changes in Social Interactions
School and university closures across the world have affected more than 1.5 billion students during 2020.30 Asthmatic children may have benefited from this intervention, as exposure to other respiratory viruses such as influenza, RSV and RV was also reduced. Even though the relationship between influenza and asthma is still ambiguous31, respiratory viruses such as RSV and RV are known risk factors for initiating and exacerbating paediatric asthma21,22. Although it is difficult to quantify changes in social interactions at the community level, a reduction was inevitable following the imposition of social distancing measures in many countries, contributing to the decreased prevalence of influenza, RSV and RV infections during the implementation of these containment strategies 9,32,33, and the reduced morbidity of children with asthma. However, the reported lower incidence of other viral infections may have been amplified by reduced health seeking behaviours as a result of fears to visit healthcare services created by the pandemic.