57 Girls In Hostel Test Corona +ve, 7 Pregnant!

As many as 57 girls of government-run Home in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, tested positive for Covid-19. At the same time, it was also found that seven of the girls in the Home were pregnant. One of them was also infected with HIV. A staff member in the shelter was also infected by Coronavirus.

The fact that seven of them were pregnant raised questions about the safety of the Home which should protect the children.

However, Kanpur district collector Dr Brahmadevram Tiwari clarified that five of the seven pregnant girls were infected with Covid-19. He said that the girls who were pregnant came to the Home on being referred by the Child Welfare Committees of Agra, Kannauj, Etah, Firozabad and other districts in Uttar Pradesh.

These are cases under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. When they were admitted to the shelter they were already pregnant, the collector said, adding that the district officials have complete information about the pregnant girls.

Last week, one girl got admitted to the Home with fever and when tests were conducted on her, she tested positive. Soon, samples were collected from other girls and tested. However, many of the girls are asymptomatic and they have been shifted to isolation centres.