Four members of a remote tribe living on India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands have tested positive for Covid-19, sparking fears for the group’s survival. The Greater Andamese number as few as 53 and have limited immunity to viruses like Covid-19 due to their isolated nature. They numbered more than 5,000 in the 1850s but when the British colonised the islands successive outbreaks of diseases like measles caused their numbers to plummet. Two of the Great Andamese who have tested positive have been admitted to hospital and two have been quarantined in a care centre. “It is extremely alarming that members of the Great Andamanese tribe tested positive for Covid-19,” said Sophie Grigg, a Senior Researcher at Survival International, an NGO campaigning for the rights of tribal people. “They will be all too aware of the devastating impact of epidemics that have decimated their people”.
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