PANAJI: The directorate of women and child development has identified two children who were orphaned during the pandemic, while the case of another child is under investigation.
Efforts are on to find if more children may have lost their parents to Covid-19.
Such children will receive assistance from the government.
The directorate of women and child development has set up an eight-bed shelter home at Parra under the care of registered child care institutions.
“Currently, the two children — a girl, 11, and a boy, 13 — who lost both their parents to Covid-19 are placed in the care of their relatives.
The boy hails from Ponda, while the girl is from Canacona,” said Deepali Naik, director of women and child development.
A portal called ‘Bal Swaraj’ has been launched by the government and district collectorates to record information about children who have been orphaned following the demise of their parents in the pandemic.
Police, hospital authorities and education department on receiving information about such cases, have to intimate the respective district collector’s office, Naik said.
Such children will receive assistance under the government’s new scheme.
The child welfare committees will be involved in deciding where they (orphaned children) should be placed — in the temporary custody of their relatives until further arrangements or immediately transferred to the child care institute, Apna Ghar.
The directorate of women and child development has written to the government about the efforts it has initiated through various authorities for identifying such children so that they can be provided instant support.
The directorate, through voluntary organisations that work for the welfare of children, is providing counselling and psychological security to affected children.
At Apna Ghar, Naik said, they have strict Covid protocols in place.
Whenever a new admission comes, the child is kept in isolation until a Covid test is done and results are received, she said.
“If the test is negative, then the child is admitted, otherwise treatment is started.
We have seen only two children testing positive so far,” Naik said.