COVID-19 Strikes Remote Great Andamanese Tribe, 5 of 53 Infected

The main priority is to now ensure that the virus does not spread among the other indigenous tribes, ministry said.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Image courtesy: PTI)

Five members of the Great Andamanese tribe have tested positive for the novel coronavirus over past one month. The population of the tribe is said to be just 53, and most of the tribe lives on one of the 37 islands in the coral reef-fringed archipelago.

According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Andaman islands recorded 2,985 Covid-19 cases, while the recoveries stand at 2,309 and the death toll is 41, since its first infection was detected in early June.

The first COVID-19 case among the endangered tribe was detected last week, when all 53 members of the tribe were tested for the virus at Strait Island, near the capital Port Blair.

Senior health officer Dr Avijit Roy told BBC that the tribe members who traveled between Port Blair and the secluded island may have contracted the infection during the process.

'Priority Is to Stop the Spread of Virus Among Other Tribes’

He further mentioned that the main priority is to now ensure that the virus does not spread among the other indigenous tribes. He also stated that health and emergency workers had traveled across the choppy sea water in boats to the island last week to test the tribe.

“We are keeping a close watch on movements and mass testing some of the tribes,” Dr Roy told BBC.

The Andamans is home to many other endangered tribes, including the Jarawas, North Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge and Shompen.

The North Sentinelese is said to be hostile to the outsiders. According to the BBC, in 2018, a US citizen John Allen Chau was trying to reach their island, but was shot dead with arrows. The North Sentinelese tribe has been secluded for thousands of years and does not interact with the outside world.

Earlier this month, five welfare staff who were working with the Jarawa were also tested coronavirus positive. The staffers belonged to Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), an autonomous body that works for the welfare of the tribe.

Emergency and health workers who are sailing to the islands to check on tribes had to clear rapid COVID-19 tests before sailing, and were quarantined for a week on their return.

The authorities have stated that they are taking measures to protect the indigenous tribes. Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda had also said that he would seek a report from Port Blair’s Tribal Welfare Department about COVID-19 affecting members of the Great Andamanese tribe.

(With inputs from BBC)