There has been an alarming increase of 96.67 percent rise in COVID-19 infection among children below 18 years from the first to the second wave.
As per data provided by the health department, children comprise about 12% of COVID cases in Assam in the second wave. A total of 34,606 children within the age group of 18 years were infected by the virus in the second wave from April 1 to June 26. During the same time period, 2,80,504 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the state. While the number of coronavirus-infected between the age group of 0-18 years was 17,457 in the first wave.
Of the total infected children in the second wave, 5,755 were children below five years whereas 28, 851 were between 6 and 18 years.
Kamrup (Metropolitan) district tops the list with the highest caseload of 5,346 children infected followed by Dibrugarh and Nagaon with 2,430 and 2,288 COVID cases among children.
In addition, data released by the Assam National Health Mission revealed that 34 children have lost their lives to the virus in the second wave which is a three times increase from the first wave.
An official from the health department informed that the children who succumbed to the virus had comorbidities like congenital diseases in the heart, kidney and rare malformations.
