MUMBAI: Children are among the worst-hit with new
Covid curbs coming into force. Many housing societies have put
restrictions on their playing in open areas.
Clubs and recreation rooms too have been locked up.
In
Powai, many complexes have barred them from playing in the compound. Common areas having table tennis, carrom boards and reading areas have been shut.
At a housing complex in
Malad East, a notice issued by the society said there was a steep rise in children and teenagers getting infected (five teenagers reportedly tested positive on April 3). “It is an earnest request to parents to refrain their children from sports or games like soccer involving frequent close contact...,” read the notice.
In March, the count of children and adolescents affected in the second wave rose significantly as against the first. Data from the state authority shows over 15,000 children below 10 are among the over 6 lakh infected in the state in March. That number balloons to over 55,000 when clubbed with adolescents (11-20 years) bracket. Together, they account for 10% of total cases. Young adults (21-30 years) contributed to 17% cases or over 1 lakh infections.
Data from the Medical Education department shows roughly 2,000 infections in January and 2,700 in February, Covid cases jumped to nearly 15,500 in March in those under 10. Similarly, for the age-group of 11-20, infections rose from nearly 5,300 and 8,000 in January and February respectively to over 40,000 in March. Since last year, over 87,000 children below 10 and 1.82 lakh between 11-20 years have been hit by Covid19 in the state.
At Trikutta Towers, another society, off Adi Shankaracharya Marg, a notice was put out on Sunday asking residents to not use the society premises to play in the garden or taking a walk.
A resident of a Sion building said, “Our society hasn’t issued any notice, but parents are not sending children down. About two weeks ago, three tested positive and all mothers decided to keep them at home for now.”