DEHRADUN: In the last 10 days, over a thousand children below nine years of age have tested positive for the coronavirus in Uttarakhand. Some of the children also had to be admitted to hospital for treatment.
The Covid-19 cases among children started rising around mid-April in the hill state. Last year, during the first wave, 2,131 children contacted the infection in Uttarakhand. Between April 1 and 15, 264 children tested positive for the virus. Between April 16 and 30, the figure grew almost four times to 1,053 and in the first 14 days of May, 1,618 children tested positive.
Uttarakhand director general of health Dr Tripti Bahuguna attributed these cases to lack of space for children to isolate in most households after parents or other members of the family test positive.
“Growing cases of Covid-19 are being seen countrywide, not only in Uttarakhand. Unlike before, more people in a family are testing positive for the virus, making the children sharing space with these adults more likely to contract it. In a few days, the government will release guidelines on how to keep children safe. Also, in the next month, two 500-bed facilities will be set up by the DRDO in Haldwani and Rishikesh and these will have separate wards for children,” Bahuguna said. She added that since children have a better ability to deal with the virus, they were also recuperating quickly.
