Strict lockdown enforced in five Rohingya camps

Lockdown has been enforced for ten days in five Rohingya camps at Teknaf upazila under Cox’s Bazar district amid surging corona virus infection among the Rohingya population.

“Lockdown has been announced from May 21 at Teknaf upazila as per the decision of the district corona prevention committee,” said Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner M Mamunur Rashid.

“The ten days strict lockdown come in the upazila including the Rohingya camps as the corona pandemic has abruptly surged among the Rohingya refugees. The lockdown will be effective till May 31,” Rashid added.

Lockdown has been imposed at Teknaf camp 24 and other 2,3,4 and 15 no camps in Ukhiya, said Mohammad Shamsudowza, Additional Commissioner of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Office of Cox’s Bazar.

Restrictions have been imposed on people’s assembly into the camp. People have been asked to confine in their houses, said the official.

All the regular programmes inside the camp have been suspended, but medicine and food distribution programme will continue in the camp area.

Till May 20, corona virus has been detected among 913 Rohingyas located in 34 camps after testing blood sample collected from some 41,477 Rohingyas, said chief health official Dr Toha, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Office in Cox’s Bazar.

Corona virus so far killed 12 Rohingyas as the corona situation so far was comparatively better in the Rohingya camp, but the situation has been deteriorated during this month.

In the last one week till May 20, corona has been detected among 165 Rohingyas.

After August 25 in 2017, more than 7 lakh Rohingyas have been taken shelter in Bangladesh amid military repression carried out at Rakhine state in Myanmar.

Earlier, four lakh Rohingyas were forced to take refuge in Bangladesh during various times in past and now more than 11 lakh Rohingyas are staying at 34 shelter camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf.