New Delhi : At least 242 children tested positive for Covid-19 in five days in Bengaluru as Karnataka reported 1,338 new cases and 31 deaths on Tuesday, according to the government data, bringing back focus on the earlier prediction that the third wave could affect children.

The Bengaluru civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru MahanagaraPalike (BBMP), said 242 children below the age of 19 tested positive in the last five days. Experts have warned that the third wave of Covid-19 has already started.

According to the data, 106 children below the age of 9 years and 136 children between 9 and 19 years have tested positive in the last five days in the city. The health department has warned that the positive cases of children may rise in the coming days.

An officer from the health department said the number will “triple” within a few days and “there is a great danger”. “All we can do is protect our children from this virus by keeping them inside the home. Children will not have much immunity compared to elder ones. It is highly recommended to parents that they keep children inside home and follow all the Covid-19 norms,” the official said.

The Karnataka government has already ordered night and weekend curfews in all the districts, and entries to Kerala-Karnataka, Maharashtra-Karnataka borders have been restricted. Only those who can show their RTPCR test of less than 72 hours are allowed to enter the state.

Karnataka has been recording around 1,500 daily new cases in the last one month, and the newly inducted chief minister BasavarajaBommai has promised to increase the vaccine doses from around 65 lakh to 1 crore per month.

According to sources, the government is likely to impose a partial lockdown from August 16.

During the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which battered the country with people dying due to lack of oxygen and in search for hospital beds, experts had warned that the possible third wave will affect the kids more. The assumption was based on the common sense that the virus attacks people who are not immune.

DrBakul J Parekh and Dr Samir H Dalwai wrote in an opinion piece in News18 that the government must consider vaccinating children as during March-April 2021, the number of children affected by Covid-19 significantly went up.

“Additionally, the number of children with Covid-19 needing hospitalisation and intensive care has significantly gone up. This has brought children (or an additional 40% of the population) directly into the segment of patients suffering from Covid-19 infection who would need significant medical care. This undoubtedly paves the way for an immediate vaccination programme for children and adolescents in India,” they wrote.Union Health Ministry officials have, however, often said that there is no evidence to suggest that children will be affected more in the next wave of the infection. Addressing concerns around impact of third coronavirus wave on children, Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, had said in June: “It may not be true that children will be disproportionately affected in the third wave as the serosurvey shows seropositivity was almost equal in all age groups. But the government is not leaving any stone unturned in terms of preparations."