Tezpur, June 28: Eleven kids at a children's home in Assam's Sonitpur district have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said on Monday. Six staff members have also tested positive for the infection at the Tezpur facility. All the 17 people have been shifted to Tezpur Medical College Hospital (TMCH) where their condition is stable, the official said.
The home, belonging to the Missionaries of Charity, has been declared as a containment zone, he said. Earlier, three children of the same facility had tested positive for COVID-19, the district's Joint Director of Health J Ahmed said. As many 259 children of Sonitpur district have been infected with COVID-19, one of whom succumbed to the disease, during the second wave of the pandemic, Ahmed said.
Meanwhile, Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) member Rupa Hazarika visited TMCH and enquired about the condition of the 11 children, who had tested positive for the viral infection on Saturday. She also held a meeting with the Sonitpur Deputy Commissioner, additional deputy commissioners, District Children Protection Officer (DCPO), chairperson, and members of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Juvenile Justice Board, to ascertain the measures being taken for the care of the affected children.
She emphasised the need for the availability of necessary infrastructure in hospitals to tackle the further spread of coronavirus among children. The district authorities assured the ASCPCR member that all possible measures have been taken for the treatment of the children. There are media reports that some more children have been infected with COVID-19 in other districts, including Nagaon, Jorhat, and Dibrugarh, Hazarika said.
