Amid pandemic, a silver lining: No child in Karnataka orphaned after losing parent to Covid-19, survey shows

'Though there are no cases yet, we are ready with a mechanism to report any such incidents in the future,' an official said

While the Covid-19 second wave has claimed hundreds of lives in the state, fortunately no child has been orphaned with the demise of both parents due to the infection.

This is according to a preliminary survey carried out after the state government appointed a nodal officer for immediate and long-term assistance of such children last week.

Nodal officer K P Mohan Raj, who serves as Inspector-General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, told DH that so far Karnataka did not have a case where a child lost both his/her parents due to the pandemic.

Mechanism ready

“Though there are no cases yet, we are ready with a mechanism to report any such incidents in the future,” he said.

Since the government appointment on May 3, meetings were held with State Child Rights Commission, district-level officials, child welfare committees and volunteer groups on the issue.

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Anjali Ramanna, chairperson of Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Bengaluru Urban district, said that though they were alerted of two cases of possible orphans, they had not fit the criteria following verification.

The Child Welfare Committee was trying to tie up with BBMP to identify children whose both parents test positive for Covid. “We have recommended the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to monitor the status of minor children if both parents are hospitalised,” she said.

Isolation centres

Isolation centres for children if both parents test positive, along with a Covid Care Centre for children are proposed in different parts of the state.

“We are proposing such centres for children, anticipating the third wave, which is expected to affect the smaller age group. We have proposed a 150-bed centre for children in Bengaluru,” she said.

Currently, the facility awaited a certification from Health Department of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, and preliminary inspection of the site was complete, she added.