COVID-19 in Mumbai: Pandemic puts children's homes on alert mode

Despite minimal contact with the public, homes for rescued children and juveniles have not been spared of the pandemic. With the centres in Mankhurd and Dongri reporting 53 and 15 COVID-19 cases respectively, homes in the city are now strictly adopting safety precautions.

At the centre in Mankhurd, which accommodates five children's homes, two staff members were the first to get infected around two months ago. Over the next few weeks, the infection spread to the children. Of the 53 children who tested positive, 51 were from the Home for the Mentally Deficient Children. "Some of the children had cough and fever, while others were asymptomatic. The children who tested positive were admitted to the COVID-19 centre at BKC," said SA Jadhav, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Mumbai Suburban. He added that barring one child, who recently tested positive, all others have recovered.

In the Observation Home in Umerkhadi that currently houses around hundred destitute and delinquent children, Rahul Kanthikar, superintendent of the home said that 15 children, who were new admissions, had tested positive along with three to four staff members last month. "All new admissions have been taken to JJ Hospital and have been tested. Until we receive the results, they will be quarantined in a separate area for 14 days. Those who tested positive were admitted to GT Hospital. They have all recovered now," he said.

Staff members running the homes have implemented a range of precautions to keep the infection at bay. At Mankhurd, Jadhav said that all the children have been tested for COVID-19 twice in the last two months. While no positive cases have been reported at the David Sassoon Industrial School for boys in Matunga, they have also taken certain precautions. Satish Bansode, deputy chief officer said that only residential staffers are allowed to interact with the children. Bansode added that while children are encouraged to stick to video calls, they have created a separate area where parents can meet them from a distance. "We give the parents gloves, masks and sanitisers and meetings take place keeping social distancing norms in place. We don't allow any visitors inside the home."

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