Impact of School Closures on the Proportion of Children in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Example from the Winter Lockdown in Germany.

School closure during the winter lockdown reduced the number of expected SARS-CoV-2 cases in children in absence of school closures. The contribution of these prevented cases to the total population incidence is small. These data might provide the basis to model the effect of school closures in addition to basic hygiene measures on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.