Bengaluru, Jan 8 (IANS): As many as 2,628 cases of Covid among children were reported in Bengaluru in the past one week, as per the statistics released by the Karnataka health department.

On an average 375 children contract the infection everyday, it added.

Between January 1 and 7, the virus hit as many as 2,628 children aged below 19 years. Among these, 571 are below nine years and 2,057 are within 19 years.

Among the 2,628 children, 1,311 are female. First three days after the new year about 100 to 150 cases were reported within this age group. Since January 3, the number has gone up and is crossing 300 daily.

As per the report of BBMP, on January 7 alone, 934 children within this group were affected with Covid- 19. However, the children are asymptomatic and are being treated in home isolation.

No deaths are reported and parents need not be panic, say BBMP authorities. Between January 1 and 7, as many as 19,568 persons have tested positive for Covid. The state has recorded more than 24,000 cases in the same period.

The infection rate in children stand at 14 per cent and most cases are reported in Bengaluru. Sources explain that this is the reason behind closure of schools in the capital city.

On December 31, the positive cases stood at 656. The numbers have crossed 6,500 in the last 24 hours. There is spurt of infection of ten times in a week. Bengaluru now stands in the second position among Metropolitan cities in the country after Mumbai.