“This is a shattering blow to us."

An Irish funded Chernobyl orphanage has been hit by an outbreak of Covid-19. The Vesnova Orphanage, funded by the Adi Roche Chernobyl Children International charity, caters for 174 children and young adults who have been affected by the Chernobyl incident of 1986. Many of the children suffer from severe disabilities, genetic disorders and compromised immune systems, making the spread of the virus far more concerning for those in the institute. According to Roche, 13 of the children have already tested positive for Covid-19, as well as 10 members of staff. The situation, she said, has become "desperate." “We had been hoping against hope that measures which were put in place might have protected the children from this dreadful pandemic," she said. "But this morning our worst fears became a reality when 13 of the children and 10 of the staff were confirmed as Covid-19 positive. “This is a shattering blow to us and to all of the Irish people who have been involved in the development of Vesnova Orphanage over the past 20 years and we are extremely worried that we may lose children whose lives we have been working desperately to improve over many years." Efforts are being made to isolate the infected children and young adults, and appeals have been made to the government in Belarus to house them in hotels or temporary accommodation amidst the outbreak. The situation, however, has been dubbed "extremely critical" as the orphanage has little medicine, no PPE, or adequate finances to care for the children while the virus continues to spread. "This is a tragedy of enormous proportions and we desperately need to find a way of reducing the risks to the children; finding funds to send them emergency supplies," said Roche. "We are appealing to anybody who can help to contact us immediately.” For the past 20 years, children from Vesnova has travelled to Irish host families for summer and Christmas. Research has shown that spending even a short amount of time away from the affected region can boost the children's immune systems considerably. Roche said that the families have been informed of the situation at the orphanage. “This is going to be a terribly worrying time for these families," she said. "The children they took each year from the orphanage became part of their own families and their own lives and hearing this news will be a shattering blow." You can find out more about the Vesnova orphanage here.