KATHMANDU, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government on Wednesday warned that COVID-19 cases in Nepal are on the rise alarmingly in the country among children as the country has reported nearly 15 percent infections among children aged below 18 years.
"As many as 2,061 children below the age of 18 years have been infected with the novel Coronavirus," Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population said on Wednesday in a regular press briefing.
The figure, according to the ministry, was 14.67 percent of the total COVID-19 cases confirmed in the country as of Wednesday.
According to the ministry, Nepal has so far 14,046 COVID-19 cases with new addition of 482 cases on Wednesday.
According to the Health Ministry, as many as 175 children aged below nine years have been infected with the virus in the Sudoorpashchim province in far western Nepal. Nepal has a total of seven provinces.
"Infection rate among children in Nepal is higher than the global average," Sameer Kumar Adhikari, joint spokesperson at the Health Ministry, told Xinhua
"The virus has been basically transmitted to the children from their parents at the quarantine centres where they stayed together after returning from abroad," said Adhikari.
According to the ministry, around 95 percent of infections has taken place among the people who returned home from abroad, particularly from India.
"As children came together with their parents and were housed at quarantine centres, they have also been infected due to the proximity with parents," said Adhikari.
The Nepal's Health Ministry on Wednesday urged the parents and guardians of the children to be more careful to prevent COVID-19 cases. Enditem
