Immigrant Children In New York Custody Test Positive For Coronavirus

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

The growing number of cases of people with coronavirus in New York City has authorities working against the clock.

Despite the advice to distance themselves socially and take sanitary measures such as washing hands by the authorities, the spread of the virus has not been contained and has reached the detention center of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a unit inside from the Department of Health and Human Services, where three minors tested positive for the virus.

According to authorities, the office in charge of housing the immigrant children is evaluating the condition of the minors and will not release them from its city care institutions.

"[The medical team] is working with programs in New York and the local health department to gather information and determine the next step," the agency said in a statement, according to the USA Today newspaper.

The three children, whose ages, identities and nationalities were not disclosed, remained in the country without an adult companion and are the first cases in government custody to test positive for the virus since the outbreak began.

The agency acts as a shelter while finding a possible sponsor to place the children permanently, either with a family member or qualified people who seek their welfare. There are currently more than 3,500 children in the agency's custody. So far, 18 children have undergone the coronavirus test; 11 tested negative and four are awaiting their results, according to the BuzzfeedNews site.

"[The agency] is prioritizing local placement of all new [minor] referrals by DHS [Department of Homeland Security] to limit air travel when possible," the statement said.

The three children add to the more than 80,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States. More than 1,000 people have died from the virus since the first case was detected in the country.