Children of nuclear families have become the latest casualty of the fast-spreading COVID-19 pandemic in the district, prompting appeals for government care for such children.
There are many cases where parents tested positive for the disease but not the children. And shifting of parents to COVID-19 hospitals led to their children being left alone at home. Similar situations arose when children’s test results came later than that of their parents, as in the case of a nurse here. The woman and her husband were moved to a hospital but their son had been left at home as his test results were to come only a few days later.
Potential carriers
She was worried about the child since there was none at home to take care of him and, on the other hand, there was the fear that he would mingle with the other children in the area endangering their health as he could be a potential carrier.
The worst fears, in fact, came true at Garikavalasa village of Gurla mandal where children moved freely for a few days before the test results arrived, that showed them COVID-19-positive.
Consequently, the authorities could not identify the primary contacts of the infected children and an opportunity to contain the spread of the disease had been lost.
Authorities alerted
A.P. State Commission for Protection of Child Rights’ member Kesali Apparao has brought the issue to the notice of the officials of the Medical and Health Department.
“The State government has been providing infrastructure for conducting tests quickly. But it is not being done properly in villages. The results of parents and children should be given at a time. Otherwise, the carriers among the children can quickly spread the virus to others. Further, the government should take care of healthy children till their infected parents return from hospitals,” he said.
Handout released
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police B. Rajakumari released a leaflet titled, Children’s Safety – Our Responsibility’, brought out by the Kesali Foundation. She said care of children was a crucial responsibility in the current situation when pandemic was wreaking havoc in all areas. She urged parents not to allow children to play freely with others till normalcy was restored.
Vizianagaram Child Welfare Committee Chairman V. Lakshmana Rao and members of the Kesali Foundation have urged local non-governmental organisations to come forward for protecting children from the dreaded disease.
