Thirty-six girls at a government-run orphanage in Tripura’s capital Agartala tested positive for coronavirus amid the current surge of COVID-19 cases. The incident has forced the State government to consider stricter measures to break the infection chain.
“A 14-day long unbroken curfew within limits of the Agartala Municipal Corporation from the morning of May 17 (Monday) is being discussed at the highest level of the government. Senior Minister Ratan Lal Nath would announce the fresh new measures tomorrow afternoon,” a health department official told The Hindu on Saturday night.
The children at the State Children Home for Girls were tested as part of the ongoing Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) being conducted in all municipal wards.
The orphanage under the Social Welfare and Social Education Department has two units in the same compound located at Ujan Abhoynagar here. Girls aged between 7 and 16 from both the units tested positive. They have been kept in isolation and their health condition is stable, the health official added.
Tripura recorded 449 new cases and three fatalities over the last 24 hours. Most infections were detected in Agartala.
