Bengaluru: A total of 543 children in the age group of 0-19 years got infected with Coronavirus from August 1-11, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said on Friday. The civic body, however, said there were no deaths in the reported lot with most children being either asymptomatic or having mild symptoms. “From August 1-11, 543 children between 0 to 19 years of age group got infected due to COVID-19. No deaths were reported. Most children were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms,” the BBMP said.

This worrying development comes at a time when the Karnataka government is mulling to open schools for students from Classes 9-12 soon.

Meanwhile, the health department has termed the situation “alarming” and has already started initiating strict measures to contain the infections.

In the coming few weeks the number might get three times more than this, the sources in the health department warned.

The government has advised parents to vaccinate themselves with two doses of Covid first and then monitor their children properly and avoiding them from crowded places.

At least 19 children between the ages of 0 and 9 have died and 26 children in age group of 10 to 19 have lost their lives. Hence, 45 children of the age group of 0 to 19 years have died. As many as 279 of the age group of 20 to 30 have lost their lives to the deadly coronavirus.

Covid-19 cases in Karnataka

The state reported 1,857 fresh infections and 30 deaths, taking the tally to 29.24 lakh and the toll to 36,911, the health department said on Thursday. The day also saw 1,950 discharges, outnumbering fresh cases, pushing the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 28,65,067.

The Dakshina Kannada district bordering Kerala continues to top the daily COVID-19 cases in Karnataka. With 475 new cases, Dakshina Kannada outnumbered the state capital Bengaluru Urban that reported 321 cases on Thursday.