About 12 percent of the total Covid cases reported in Assam in the second wave are infections in children below 18 years.

As many as 34,066 children below 18 years have tested positive for Covid-19 during the second wave of whom 5,755 cases were children below five years and 28,851 belonged to six to 18 year age groups, according to an official of the National Health Mission of the state.

A release from the National Health Mission, Assam on Monday said that 2,80,504 Covid-positive cases were recorded between April 1 and June 26 this year. Out of this 34,066 were children below 18 years.

Children accounted for eight per cent of the total cases in the first wave.

“This figure has gone up to 12 per cent this year,” the official of the National Health Mission of the state said on Monday.

According to him, earlier, a major portion of those in the below-10 age group was exempted from testing. This time, however, if an adult had tested positive and was under home isolation, the children too were tested. So there has been an increase in the number of children testing positive in the second wave.

Of the 34,066 positive cases, 34 children have succumbed to the infection, according to the release.

Many of them had comorbidities like congenital diseases of the heart, kidney, rare malformations and others, especially among those less than five years of age.

According to the release Kamrup Metro and Dibrugarh have reported the highest number of cases among children.

As many as 5,346 children found to be infected by the virus in Kamrup Metro which is  highest among all other districts. This stands at 10.04% of the total caseload of 53,251 in the entire district.

Dibrugarh follows next with 2,430  COVID-19 cases among children, which accounts for 12.19 of the cases in the districts. Nagaon is placed third with 2,288 casesbelow 18 years which stands at 14.38 percent of the total 15, 910 cases. 

Kamrup Rural is placed fourth with 2,023 coronavirus cases among children, which stands at 11.75% of the total 17,216 cases.

Sonitpur is fifth with 1,839 COVID-19 cases among children, which stands at 13.89% of the total 13,239 cases in the district.

The other districts have also reported positive cases among children below the age of 18.

According to the release during the ongoing Assam Community Surveillance Programme Phase 3 (ACSP 3) it was found that many children staying with COVID-19 positive parents or guardians who opted for home isolation, had subsequently tested positive for the infection.

The government has therefore advised parents or guardians who have tested COVID-19 positive to preferably opt for institutional quarantine instead of home isolation to prevent the spread of coronavirus among children.

Preparations are on to set up paediatric ICUs across the districts to deal with the possible third wave.  

The Health Department is strictly following the guidelines issued by the Government of India regarding Paediatric COVID management and establishment of COVID Paediatric ICUs in all medical colleges and district hospitals are at an advanced stage, the release said.

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