Authorities in tizzy after 130 children in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri hospitalised with fever, dysentery

Jalpaiguri (West Bengal): At least 130 children were admitted to Jalpaiguri Sadar Hospital with high fever and dysentery, a health department official said. Two of them were later shifted to North Bengal Medical College as their condition worsened, he said. The development comes amid warning by experts that the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic might pose a greater risk to children. “We are keeping a tab on the situation and trying to develop the hospital’s infrastructure so that no one is denied admission. The situation is quite worrisome,” the official told PTI. If necessary, the children will be subjected to COVID-19 tests, he stated. District Magistrate Moumita Godara Basu, who visited the hospital during the day, held back-to-back meetings with authorities to assess the situation and find a way ahead, the official added.