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Aid groups warned of an impending humanitarian disaster after the coronavirus was first detected in sprawling camps housing approximately one million Rohingya refugees.
Camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, which are more densely populated than some of the world’s busiest cities, have been closed since March 14, in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.
On Thursday, the UN confirmed that an ethnic Rohingya refugee and one other person had tested positive for Covid-19. “Both patients are isolated and the search for contacts is ongoing,” the UN refugee agency said in a statement.
Humanitarian groups fear that the virus could cross the camps, where families live with up to 10 people in one room, often with limited access to basic items like soap and clean water. Households are forced to queue to access drinking water and food at communal distribution points, making social distancing impossible.
In addition to overcrowding, many refugees, who have fled persecution in Myanmar, have underlying health conditions or have not received standard vaccines, according to health experts.
The Médicins Sans Frontières charity warned that before Covid-19, about a third of treated patients had symptoms of the respiratory tract, such as difficulty breathing, which means they are at increased risk for the disease. Health services for those who get sick are limited.
Health experts and Rohingya community leaders have become increasingly concerned as the number of coronavirus infections has continued to rise in Bangladesh, which has reported 18,863 Covid-19 cases and 283 deaths.
Dr. Shamim Jahan, health director for Save the Children in Bangladesh, said in a statement that the virus had already overwhelmed the country.
“It is estimated that there are only 2,000 fans in the whole of Bangladesh, serving a population of 160 million people. In the Rohingya refugee camps, home to nearly a million people, there are no intensive care beds at the moment, “he said.
“Now that the virus has entered the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, we are facing the very real possibility that thousands of people may die from Covid-19. This pandemic could delay Bangladesh for decades.”
Community members have volunteered to share information about the disease, but such awareness-raising activities have been hampered by an internet ban imposed in the camps, meaning that people cannot access crucial health information. public. Aid organizations have also had to dramatically reduce their presence in settlements to reduce the risk of transmission.
The UK’s Burmese Rohingya organization said the international community needed to provide increased resources to protect Rohingya refugees and called on the Bangladesh government to allow humanitarian work to continue in the camps.
“We urge Bangladesh to lift all restrictions on access by aid groups to people in need during the pandemic, and to take all necessary measures to prevent the virus from spreading further.” The international community must step in and support Bangladesh in these vital efforts, ”said Tun Khin, the group’s president, adding that an internet ban imposed by Bangladesh should also be lifted.
“The Rohingya people in Cox’s Bazar fled to save their lives from Myanmar, where the government is waging brutal genocide,” he said. “The world must now ensure that a disaster of epic proportions is avoided in camps where they have found security.”
