The Centre has come out with a set of fresh guidelines for the care and protection of children affected by COVID-19. The government has fixed responsibilities for the states, district magistrates, police, Panchayati Raj institutions, and urban local bodies.
Women and Child Development Ministry Secretary Ram Mohan Mishra has in this regard written to the chief secretaries of all the states and Union territories directing them to streamline and facilitate the actions being taken. The letter has also enlisted the responsibilities of the primary duty holders to deal with COVID-19 infections among children.
As per the guidelines, the states need to identify the children in distress through outreach and surveys and prepare a database with a profile of each child and ensure that the data is uploaded on the Track Child portal.
The move comes amid fears of a surge in COVID-19 among children in the potential third wave.
The Health Ministry officials have been asserting that the pediatric population in the country has, largely been asymptomatic so far with not more than 2-3% cases of multi-inflammatory syndrome needing hospitalisation. But they also cautioned that the situation could change in the possible third wave of COVID-19 if the virus changes its behavior or if there are changes in epidemiology dynamics.
The states and Union territories have been asked to temporarily allocate child care institutions (CCIs) to house those children whose parents have been unwell due to COVID-19 and provide the necessary support to them, in case the extended family is not available, the guidelines say as per a report in PTI.
The states and UTs have also been asked to issue directions to hospitals to collect the contact details of trustworthy persons known to the patients in the admission form, to be contacted for taking care of children in case of any eventuality, the report said.
"Immediate temporary rehabilitation of children through the existing child care facilities supported under the Child Protection Services scheme must be ensured," Mishra said in the letter.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, said 9,346 children have lost at least one of the parents to the deadly virus, including over 1,700 who have lost both their parents, according to data received from the states.
The DMs have been asked to create a district-level multi-departmental task force to map the needs, monitor the progress, and ensure that all benefits reach the affected children and all civil society organisations may be asked to positively inform the Child Welfare Committee or the District Child Protection Unit about any vulnerable child noticed by them.
"The district magistrates need to secure the rights of the children on family assets or ancestral properties to ensure that those are not sold or encroached. It should be done through proper oversight maintained by the registration or revenue department," the letter said.
Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.
(With PTI inputs)
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