Adi Roche, the founder of Chernobyl Children International, has said it has been a "shattering blow" to hear that there is a Covid-19 outbreak at the charity's Vesnova orphanage in Belarus.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Roche described it as a "critical situation" and said some of the children at the orphanage are already getting "extremely ill".
She said they had taken a number of measures to try to keep the children safe from the virus, but she received the bad news yesterday.
She said at least 13 children have been confirmed with Covid-19 infections and ten staff members also have the virus. Ms Roche said the children are extremely at risk as they have severe disabilities with a low immunity and a number of genetic disorders