A total of 31 minor girls and eight caretakers at two orphanages in Tripura have tested positive for Covid-19 but their condition is stable, officials said on Sunday.
Tripura Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TCPCR) Chairperson Nilima Ghosh said that these comprised 26 children at the privately-run Jawaharlal Nehru Balika Niwas and five children of the state Social Welfare Department-run Bhasa home.
"All the infected children, aged between five to 16 years, are stable. All necessary steps including posting of doctors, nurses and health workers, were taken to take care of the children," Ghosh told IANS, adding that authorities have asked officials of other homes in Tripura to take all precautionary steps and maintain health protocols to check the spread of the disease among the children.
Ghosh also said that if any child at any home wants to stay with their close relative, the Social Welfare Department would provide Rs 2,150 per month per child.
Children in isolation
Jawaharlal Nehru Balika Niwas Secretary, Tushar Kanti Bhattacharjee told IANS that all the Covid infected children are now in isolation and round-the-clock monitoring is being done by doctors, health workers and employees of the home. West Tripura District Health Surveillance Officer Sangeeta Chakraborty said that out of the 31 infected children, six had been admitted to the hospitals.
Meanwhile, state Education and Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that in view of the alarming rise of Covid-19 cases in the Agartala Municipal Corporation areas, the west Tripura District Magistrate has enforced Corona curfew from 5 a.m. on Monday to 5 a.m. on May 26.
Nath also said that containment zones have been declared in three of the 49 wards of Agartala Municipal Corporation, the entire area of six municipal councils in different districts and two rural areas -- BSF Para and Nagichara -- in West Tripura district.
Health officials on Sunday night said that the number of active cases in Tripura rose to over 4,561, from 1,224 on May 1, increasing the positivity rate to 5.17 per cent. Tripura has so far reported 40,816 Covid cases, while 4,38 persons have succumbed to the dreaded disease.
(With inputs from IANS)
