Coronavirus cases detected in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps

For the first time in the Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps, two Rohingya refugees have been tested positive with the novel coronavirus.  

On Thursday, samples from 186 suspected patients were tested in Cox's Bazar Medical College lab. Among them, results of 12 people, including, two Rohingya refugees, came positive. 

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Health Coordinator Dr Abu Md Toha said, "The infected patients are male and both of them are registered Rohingyas." 

Among the two, one is a resident from Pashchim Camp of Ukhia and another is from Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp of the world. 

"The family members and everyone, who may have come into contact with the patients, were sent to quarantine," Md Toha said, adding that the authorities will collect their samples and send them for coronavirus test on Friday.

Both of the infected coronavirus patients have been kept in isolation.

As many as 60,000 to 90,000 people are jammed into each square kilometre, with families of up to a dozen sharing small shelters. More than 730,000 Rohingya arrived from Myanmar in late 2017 after fleeing a military crackdown. 

The death toll from the deadly virus rose to 283 and the number of total infections stood at 18,863 in Bangladesh as of Thursday.