NEW YORK, United States (AP) — When the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the United States in mid-March, forcing schools to close and many children to be locked down in households buffeted by job losses and other forms of stress, many child welfare experts warned of a likely surge in child abuse.

Among them is Dr Lori Frasier, who heads the child protection programme at PennState Health's Milton S Hershey Medical Center and is president of a national society of paediatricians specialising in child abuse prevention and treatment.

Still, some experts believe the actual level of abuse during the pandemic is being hidden from view because many children are seeing neither teachers nor doctors, and many child protection agencies have cut back on home visits by caseworkers.

Several states said calls to their child abuse hotlines dropped by 40 per cent or more, which they attributed to the fact that teachers and school nurses, who are required to report suspected abuse, no longer had direct contact with students.

One of Milner's top aides, Special Assistant David Kelly, noted that in normal times a large majority of calls to child abuse hotlines don't trigger investigations.