The novel coronavirus has been detected in one of the camps in southern Bangladesh that are home to more than a million Rohingya refugees, officials said, as humanitarian groups warned that the infection could devastate the crowded settlement, according to Reuters.

It was the first confirmed case in the camps, which are more densely populated than most crowded cities on earth.

“Today they have been taken to an isolation centre after they tested positive,” Mahbub Alam Talukder, the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, told Reuters by phone.

The other patient was from the “host population”, a term usually used to refer to locals living outside the camps, the UN spokeswoman said.

In this file photo, Rohingya refugees walk on a road at the Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar on April 18, 2019. — Reuters
In this file photo, Rohingya refugees walk on a road at the Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar on April 18, 2019. — Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.