Concerns for the Nearly 400 Rohingya Refugees Rescued off the Coast of Bangladesh

Nearly 400 Rohingya refugees have been rescued in Bangladesh after being at sea for two months. Experts are concerned about the spread of coronavirus if these refugees are housed in the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar along Bangladesh border with Myanmar. Credit: ASM Suza Uddin/IPS By Samira SadequeUNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 2020 (IPS) Nearly 400 Rohingya refugees have been rescued in Bangladesh after being at sea for two months.  Bangladesh coast guards reported rescuing 382 Rohingyas, including many women and children, who were starving and stuck on a boat as they were trying to reach Malaysia, the BBC reported on Thursday.  Coast guard spokesman Lt Shah Zia Rahman told AFP news agency that they were on “a big overcrowded fishing trawler” and were brought to a beach near Teknaf.  In the midst of the current coronavirus pandemic — on Mar. 26 Bangladesh went into a nationwide lockdown in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus — this rescue effort poses particular concerns about potential coronavirus cases and/or it being spread in the camps, where people remain at extremely high risk of contracting and spreading the disease.  The Bangladesh government also closed the 34 refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district on Apr. 8, allowing only medical aid and essential food into the camps. Latest figures show that the country has just over 1,500 reported cases of the coronavirus and 60 deaths. “They have not been moved to any refugee camps, they...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Development & Aid Featured Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Migration & Refugees Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations Rohingya Tales of the 21st Century: Rohi Source Type: news