Covid-19: 38 indigenous peoples affected in Brazil, says an association

The Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) announced Friday that 38 indigenous peoples have already been affected by the new coronavirus. The association, which coordinates the struggle of these populations for their rights, has listed 446 cases of contamination and 92 deaths among the indigenous peoples affected.

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"The speed at which the virus has reached our indigenous territories across the country is frightening," said APIB in a statement. The majority of contaminations with the new coronavirus have been recorded in the Brazilian Amazon, where there are many isolated tribes.

On Thursday, the natives of Parque das Tribos, a community living near the big city of Manaus, celebrated the funeral of their chief, the cacique Messias Kokama, who died at the age of 53 from Covid-19.

The ceremony was organized with the coffin closed and surrounded by plastic to avoid any contamination, noted an AFP photographer.

The association also said that cases of contamination had been recorded in tribes in southern Brazil, in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazil sees its contamination curve progress exponentially, with 200,000 confirmed cases and more than 14,000 deaths. Figures - official - which could be 15 times higher in reality, according to researchers.

The spread of the coronavirus has encouraged incursions into the native lands of illegal loggers and mineral extractors, the NGO Survival International said on Friday.

Read also: Deforestation intensifies in the Amazon

The NGO thus denounced incursions in four localities of four Brazilian Amazon states, including that of Amazonas, near the border with Peru, where there is a large concentration of isolated indigenous populations. "President (Brazilian Jair) Bolsonaro with his racist speech and his anti-indigenous measures promotes a wave of invasions," added the NGO.