Ahmednagar, June 3: Amid fears over the coronavirus pandemic's third wave in which even children are likely to be affected, nearly 10,000 minors tested positive for COVID-19 last month in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. According Ahmednagar District Collector Rajendra Bhosale, 9,928 minors contracted coronavirus in May. Around 97 per cent of them were asymptomatic. Bhosi Patten: This Maharashtra Village Shows the Way of Fighting COVID-19 Pandemic by Adopting Isolation.

Of the 9,928 minors who tested COVID-19 positive, 6,787 were in the age group of 11 to 18, 3,052 were in the 1 to 10 years age bracket, while 89 were less than one year old. Ahmednagar district reported around 86,000 COVID-19 cases in May. Bhosale said a section of the minor who contracted coronavirus were not following the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the virus. COVID-19 Third Wave Inevitable, Warns Government’s Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan.

Sachin Solat, a member of the district paediatric task force, told TOI that the figures were not alarming. "The number was around 11.5% of the total COVID-19 cases registered in May in the district, which is acceptable. There is nothing unusual about it," Solat said, adding that in around 97 per cent of the cases, minor patients were asymptomatic.

Speaking on a possible chain of transmission, Solat said these children and teenagers got the infection from elders in their families who were contracted the virus. "We must remember that there are hundreds of joint families staying together in one home, where the infection can spread easily," he said.

Dr Aarti Kinikar, a member of the state's paediatric task force, said the panel had taken note of the high number of children and teenagers contracting coronavirus in Ahmednagar. The task force is working to ascertain the reasons behind it, she added. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state by the pandemic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 02, 2021 04:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).