Spike in COVID cases among children, states prepare for possible third wave

The symptoms among children include complaints of fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat, loss of taste and smell and more.

Picture credit: IANS

New Delhi: Amid the second wave of COVID-19 cases, it has come to the attention of the Ministry of Health that the number of positive cases in children has been rising.

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi are among the first to report this increase in cases. The symptoms include complaints of fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat, loss of taste and smell, diarrhoea, body rashes, among other flu symptoms, while a few other children also have experienced breathlessness and shortness of breath. 

Some of the children have even been admitted to hospitals for treatment, in serious cases.

According to the health reports, 81,188 cases were reported in the 0-10 years group until March 24 which had grown to 1,49,224 until May 6; similarly, 1.66 lakh cases were reported in the 11-20 years age group, which more than doubled to 3.38 lakh, followed by 4.15 lakh cases in the 21-30 years group, which also more than doubled to 8.67 lakh in the same period.

According to news agency PTI’s official sources in the Karnataka COVID War Room, the state saw 20,206 COVID infections including 17 fatalities among children below 10 years of age from March 1 to May 15 this year when the second wave hit the state.

The case fatality rate, however, among children is only 0.1 per cent.

The Delhi government has formed a special task force to protect children in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that if the third wave of the COVID-19 emerges, his government is prepared in advance to fight it.

According to the Uttarakhand Health Department, only 2,131 children contracted the infection in the last year, while 264 children tested positive from April 1 to April 15. Total 1,053 cases reported from April 16-April 30, and 1,618 from May 1-May 14.

Meanwhile several state governments like Uttarakhand and Maharashtra have arranged special schemes for the protection of the children that were orphaned due to COVID-19 pandemic.