Common symptoms reported in adults with COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and fatigue; severe cases have been associated with dyspnoea and bilateral ground-glass opacities on chest CT.3 In China, the SARS-CoV-2 reproductive number is estimated at 2.6 The combined case-fatality rate is 2% in China,7 and the risk of death is increased significantly in older people (approximately 15%).7 It is noteworthy that infants and children have not been featured prominently in COVID-19 case statistics. An analysis from China has shown that children younger than 10 years account for only 1% of COVID-19 cases,7 similar to the proportion for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV epidemics.4,5 Infants and young children are typically at high risk for admission to hospital after respiratory tract infection with viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus.8 Immaturity of the respiratory tract and immune system is thought to contribute to severe viral respiratory disease in this age group.8 Therefore, the absence of paediatric patients with COVID-19 has perplexed clinicians, epidemiologists, and scientists. Patients were stratified by disease severity and were assessed in hospital (mean duration of hospitalisation, 14 SD 3 days) for secondary bacterial and fungal infection, sepsis, immune responses, and organ dysfunction (lung, liver, heart, and kidney).