SAMUT PRAKAN: Two Covid-infected girls whose mother died on Monday, leaving them orphaned and alone, are now being cared for by the provincial social development and human security office.
Their 44-year-old mother Apaporn Suntarachon was dead on the floor beside their mattress-bed when the girls woke up in their rented room on Monday morning in tambon Tha Chalong, Bang Phli district.
The mother had been ill - coughing blood, vomiting and with trouble breathing - for the previous few days, but it has not been confirmed yet whether she died from Covid-19.
The girls, Samaporn Samwongsa, 11, and Tanyaporn Samwongsa, 9, were tested with rapid antigen kits and the results were positive for the coronavirus.
With the death of their mother and sole supporter, the girls were left alone in the world.
Help has been extended to them.
Supacha Promsorn, chief of the Samut Prakan child and family welfare home, said the two would be quarantined and undergo treatment. They would also be tested again to confirm whether they were infected with the virus.
After that her office would search for any relatives who would be willing to take them into their care, if the children agree to be under their guardianship.
If no relatives could be found, the provincial social development and human security office would take care of them, Ms Supacha said.
Ms Supacha said that Chonsawat Asavahame, chairman of the Samut Prakan Chamber of Commerce, had contacted her through a representative, offering to find them a foster home.
However, the social development and human security office would have to first take a look at any proposed foster home. There were many criteria that needed to be met.
Ms Supacha said there had been offers of help from the public, but the social development and human security office would wait until the girls had completed treatment. After that the office would help them open a bank account to accept donations.
No matter what, the girls would not be left without care, she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dr Pichet Puapankitcharoen, director of Bang Phli Hospital, said the two girls had been admitted to the hospital for examination. They would also get counselling.
The abbot of Wang Bang Phli Yai Klang, Phra Khru Palad Suwatanasilkhun, has offered to cremate their mother free of charge.