In Andhra Pradesh, 631 children rescued through Operation Muskaan test positive for Coronavirus

As many as 631 rescued children among the 2,195 tested from the total 16,457 children rescued as part of Andhra Pradesh police department's 'Operation Muskaan' have tested positive for COVID-19. "A total of 2,195 kids have already been tested for Covid until now, tests for the rest of them are underway. Unfortunately, out of those whose results have been declared, 631 kids have tested positive and are being given necessary medical attention," said a police official.

'Operation Muskaan' was not only aimed at rescuing the lost and wayward children but also to check if they had contracted Coronavirus. In less than a week's time, the Andhra police saved 16,457 children in coordination with Child-Line and Child Welfare Committee (CWC), along with district police departments at all transit points such as railway stations, bus stations, parks, hotels and others. Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang supervised the rescue operation, deploying 794 police teams.

The rescued children included child labourers, children living on the streets, orphans and also those who ran away from home. Of the 16,457 children, 13,588 were boys and the remaining 2,869 were girls. Some children were reunited with their families while others were sent to child care centres. The state police started 'Operation Muskaan' in January, completing three iterations already and saving a total of 25,298 children across the southern state.