Maharashtra: Officials form task force for children orphaned due to COVID-19 in Raigad

Alibaug, May 22: The administration in Maharashtra's Raigad district has established a task force to take care of children who have lost their parents to coronavirus, an official said on Saturday.

As directed by Collector Nidhi Choudhary, when COVID-19 patients are admitted to hospitals, medical officers who are present at the time have to get a form filled from them regarding the custody of their children in the event of their death, the official said.

Citizens can call on the helpline number 1089 to inform the task force of about children who have lost their parents to COVID-19, he said.

Meanwhile, the collector has sanctioned a COVID-19 vaccination centre at the Raigad district court in Alibaug, where judges, advocates and the court staffer can get inoculated from Saturday, an official said.

In another incident, more than eight lakh migrant workers left the national capital in the first four weeks of the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the Delhi Transport Department.

Between April 19 and May 14, a total of 8,07,032 migrant workers left Delhi for their home states in buses, out of which 3,79,604 left during the first week of the lockdown itself. The number started declining from thereon, 2,12,448 left in the second week, 1,22,490 in the third week and 92, 490 in the fourth week.

"The timely coordination with transport authorities of neighbouring states, especially Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by the Government of NCT of Delhi has helped about eight lakhs migrant workers to reach their destination without any difficulty," read the report.