Bangladesh locks down Rohingya camps after virus spike

Bangladeshauthorities on Thursday imposed a lockdown in fiveRohingyarefugeecampsin the country's southeastafteraspikein coronavirus cases in recent days, officials said.

The restrictions barred gatherings and movement betweencamps, which are home to more than 100,000Rohingyarefugees,Bangladesh's deputy refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza told AFP.

"We imposed the restrictions from todayaftersudden spikes in coronavirus cases in the fivecamps," he said, adding Wednesday saw a single-day record in new infections.

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Bangladeshauthorities have set up 34campsin the country's southeastern district of Cox's Bazar for nearly 900,000Rohingyarefugees, who fled persecution and violence in Myanmar.

They included some 740,000Rohingyarefugees who fled a deadly Myanmar military offensive in August 2017.

Douza said aid workers have been restricted in thecamps, allowing only a bare minimum people who work in health, food and gas distribution to enter.

On Wednesday alone, 45Rohingyatested positive for thevirusout of 247 tested, said local health coordinator Toha Bhuiyan. The same number was also tested positive on Thursday.

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All fivecampshave been completely closed," he told AFP.

"The infection number is alarming," Anupom Barua, the Principal of Cox's Bazar Medical College, told AFP. Barua has been monitoring the coronavirus situation in thecampssince last year.

Since theviruswas detected last year in thecamps,Bangladeshauthorities have tightly controlled visitors entry into the area, amid fear that COVID-19 could wreck havoc in the squalid and extremely congested settlements.

The restrictions helped keepdowncases and deaths.

An international aid worker told AFP that the authorities have already used loudspeakers to warn people in thecampsof the restrictions.

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The worker said the number of cases have also jumped among the host Bangladeshi population in Teknaf, prompting the authorities to impose a lockdown in the southern-most border town.

A senior police officer told AFP that authorities have stepped up security and set up checkposts in the settlements.

Bangladeshlaunched a COVID-19 vaccination drive in February and some six million people have got one or two doses, but that campaign has not reachedRohingyarefugees.