A nine-year-old boy infected with coronavirus did not spread the illness to those he came in contact with, French researchers said.
The case study, investigated by Public Health France, was published in the US journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The nine-year-old contracted the virus while staying in a ski chalet in the French Alps, and then went to three different ski schools in eastern France, unaware that he was a carrier of COVID-19.
All those who came in contact with the boy were placed in quarantine, and 41% had respiratory symptoms. However, out of 73 people tested, only one other child contracted the disease.
Researchers studying the case suggested that children may not be primary spreaders of coronavirus, though they act in the capacity for most other illnesses. They also suggested that other respiratory viruses circulating may impact COVID-19's ability to spread.
Speaking to AFP, Public Health France epidemiologist and lead study author Kostas Danis said: "'One child, co-infected with other respiratory viruses, attended three schools while symptomatic, but did not transmit the virus, suggesting potential different transmission dynamics in children."
The average person infected with coronavirus infects just 2.2 other people.
Children who contract coronavirus are more likely than adults to be asymptomatic and less likely to suffer complications or death, raising concerns that they may be able to spread the virus without knowing they have it.