Brazil has recorded this Wednesday the first case of coronavirus in an Amerindian community, a young woman of 20 years living near the border with Colombia, announced the Ministry of Health. " This is the only case of indigenous Covid-19 in Brazil, " said in a statement the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai), an organ of the ministry.
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The young woman of the Kokama ethnic group is a health professional living in Santo Antonio do Iça, in the state of Amazonas (north). She worked alongside a doctor who tested positive last week after returning from vacation in southern Brazil. “At the moment, she has no symptoms. His family members are also under observation and in solitary confinement, "added the press release. The doctor's fifteen collaborators and twelve patients from the Tikuna ethnic group whom he recently treated were tested and placed under observation.
The pandemic of the new coronavirus is a great source of concern for the Amerindian peoples of the Amazon, who have already suffered greatly from contact with the outside world. Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta stressed at a press conference that " the health of the natives is a source of great concern " given the historical vulnerability of these communities to imported viruses. The illnesses brought by European settlers wiped out almost 95% of the Native Americans. " We must pay tenfold attention to these populations ", especially those who have very little external relations, warned Mandetta. The virus can be more deadly among natives, he added.
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" The indigenous leaders arriving from abroad ", after traveling with NGOs, were invited to isolate themselves for fourteen days and not to go to the villages, said the minister.
Brazil has nearly 800,000 Amerindians from over 300 ethnic groups. This country of 210 million inhabitants recorded, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, 6836 cases of Covid-19, including 240 deaths. In the state of Amazonas, 200 cases have been identified, including 3 fatal. Sesai also said it would intensify surveillance for influenza and respiratory diseases in the 34 indigenous special health districts.