Abstract
The highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected 213 countries and territories and six continents as of 1st June 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified this highly pathogenic outbreak as posing a severe health threat to the global population. The disease is particularly concerning for approximately one million Rohingya refugees living in the world’s largest refugee camp in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh because of existing poor health determinants. As of 15th May 2020, Bangladesh and UN officials confirmed that ‘two refugees tested positive at the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh where 1,900 other refugees — who may have been in contact with them — are being isolated for tests. Although the incidence rate is low at this stage, epidemiological modelling estimates a mortality rate of 1,500 Rohingya refugees per day. This high rates of mortality warrants to undertake rapid and comprehensive preventative measures to control the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequently reduce aggravating existing humanitarian crisis in the refugee camp. This paper highlights epidemiological insights into the need for a rapid response to COVID-19 in the refugee camps. Subsequently, it offers community, health, and political level-recommendations to help control the spread of COVID-19 among the extremely vulnerable Rohingya refugees. This paper draws upon secondary sources of data, grey literature, published studies as well as personal communication with field officers to offer translational strategies to control and prevent the spread of COVID 19 in the camps.
Highlights
The highly pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the COVID-19 disease, is a serious health threat to the approximate one million Rohingya people living in the world’s largest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the second most impoverished district of Bangladesh [1,2]
This paper highlights epidemiological insights into the need for a rapid response to the prevention of COVID-19 in the Rohingya refugee camps. It offers translational strategies at the community, health service, and political levels to help control the spread of COVID-19 among the extremely vulnerable Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
The displacement of Rohingya refugees from their homeland and consequent migration to Bangladesh caused a humanitarian crisis in the refugee camps [5,7]
Summary
The highly pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the COVID-19 disease, is a serious health threat to the approximate one million Rohingya people living in the world’s largest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the second most impoverished district of Bangladesh [1,2]. Evidence suggests that Rohingya refugees have limited access to basic healthcare facilities in the camps [5], which places them at a high risk of health outbreaks caused by (infectious) diseases [23]. Doing contact tracing activities (e.g. case investigation, checking contacts, suggestions for maintaining physical distancing and isolation, and monitoring) for the prevention of COVID-19 in the camps is very challenging due to the high density of the population, the limited education level of refugees, congested living conditions, and limited training of support staff This was learned during the outbreaks of other infectious diseases (e.g. measles, diphtheria, cholera) in the camps [4]. Quick mobilization of such resources would limit the transmission of COVID-19, as has been evident in the Wuhan province of China and elsewhere [41]
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