SAN DIEGO — Doctors at Rady Children’s Hospital want to reassure parents there is no active transmission of coronavirus among children at this time.

They have been taking 300 samples from children with really bad colds and all of the tests came back negative. 

Doctors at the pediatric hospital also say data from China shows children with coronavirus do not get seriously ill. 

“There’s still no children in San Diego, our residents, who have been exposed to someone with Coronavirus who have gotten the disease,” Medical Director of Infectious Diseases Dr. John Bradley told FOX 5.

He says most children with the virus show signs and symptoms similar to just a bad chest cold. 

“We now know that coronavirus in children just gives you a very bad cold,” Dr, Bradley said.

However, he says, children are highly capable of spreading the virus.

“The children would spread it to their moms and dads which is bad, but not so bad,” Dr. Bradley said. “But if it gets spread to grandparents, especially those with lung disease or heart disease or something, those are the cases that will be seriously ill.”

He also says children with serious asthma may be at risk, but not children with mild asthma. 

“Mild asthma and all you need is an inhaler once in a while, you’ll probably be just fine,” Dr. Bradley said. “You may have more cough, a little bit more trouble breathing, you’ll need more of your inhaler if you get this virus but you won’t be up in our ICU.”

The next most vulnerable group is fragile children with pre-existing health conditions such as chronic lung disease or heart disease.

“Kids that gets heart transplants and any kids that get transplanted organs whether it’s a kidney, a liver, heart, you name it,” Dr. Bradley said.

He also says data from China shows that young infants — three- to four-month old babies — with coronavirus just get a mild cold.