Fifty-seven minor girls have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a state-run children’s shelter home in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, with five of them found to be pregnant and one HIV positive.
All of them have been admitted to government hospitals, while staff and those girls not infected have been quarantined and their samples sent for COVID-19 test, leading to the entire facility being sealed.
There was controversy earlier on Sunday after local media outlets reported that at least two of the girls were found to be pregnant during a medical examination, raising questions about the shelter that is supposed to protect them.
The Kanpur District Magistrate has confirmed that five of those who had tested positive were pregnant but their pregnancies occurred before they were admitted to the shelter in December last year.
Speaking to media, Kanpur DM Brahmdev Tiwari said “57 girls have tested positive for Covid-19, which includes five girls found to be pregnant. This includes two minors and one HIV positive patient. They were sent by the Child Welfare Committees from Agra, Etah, Kannauj, Firozabad, Kanpur and were pregnant before they came to the shelter home. These are the cases under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences [POCSO] Act. Two other girls who were tested negative are also pregnant. They were also sent by the CWC team of Kanpur”.
Poonam Kapoor, a member of the UP State Women’s Commission, has said that the girls likely got infected with the virus when the shelter home staff visiting a Kanpur hospital came into contact with COVID-19 patients.
Kanpur currently is struggling with 400 active coronavirus cases- the second-highest in the state. Noida being number one in the state with 577 cases.