At least four members of the Great Andamanese tribe whose population is reportedly just 53 persons have tested coronavirus positive, BBC reported. Two of the COVID-19 patients have been admitted to the hospital while the other two are quarantined at a care centre. According to some reports however, at least five members of the tribe have COVID-19.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where the tribespeople reside, have 635 active coronavirus cases as of Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the islands have seen 2,985 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the recoveries have gone up to 2,309.
The first COVID-19 case in the endangered tribe came to light last week when all 53 tribes persons were tested for the virus at Strait Island, near the capital city of Port Blair. Dr Avijit Roy, a senior health officer, told BBC that those who tested positive may have contracted the infection during travels between Port Blair and the secluded island where they live. Many of them are also employed in the city. The official said that the main concern was to ensure now that further transmission to other indigenous tribes does not happen.
There are other endangered tribes that call the Andamans home. They are the Jarawas, the North Sentinelese, the Onge and the Shompen. The North Sentinelese tribe were in the news in 2018 when John Allen Chau, a missionary, had attempted to reach their island and had allegedly been shot dead with an arrow. The tribe has been secluded for thousands of years and does not engage in any known contact with the outside world.
According to Survival International, a global movement for tribal peoples’ rights, the Great Andamanese were once a thriving population of over 5,000 individuals before the colonisation of the islands in the 1850s by the British. The brutal occupation combined with the diseases introduced by the incoming of the foreigners impacted the tribes – including the Great Andamanese – to reduce their numbers. Earlier this year, the last speaker of the Sare Great Andamanese language – Licho – passed away from several health issues, including chronic tuberculosis.
Concerns are there for other tribes as well. Earlier this month, five welfare staff working with the Jarawa have also tested coronavirus positive. These staffers were of the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), an autonomous body that advises administration on the indigenous tribes’ welfare, especially the Jarawas. Even more concerning is that last week, eight fishermen were arrested for fishing illegally in the Jarawa Tribal Reserve. The Jarawas are around 500 in number as of now.
The authorities have said that they are taking measures to protect the vulnerable tribes. The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda had also said that he would seek a report from Port Blair’s Tribal Welfare Department about COVID-19 affecting members of the Great Andamanese tribe.
Concerns have been expressed about the wellbeing of the vulnerable tribes during the pandemic as well. Denis Giles, Editor of Port Blair-based the Andaman Chronicle, told Down To Earth, that the Great Andamanese should have been moved to Strait Island, or kept confined to one area in Port Blair and educated about the COVID-19 situation.
The Jarawas, Denis said, have reportedly been shifted to the west coast of the Tribal Reserve, whereas the Andaman Trunk Road and other settlements are on the east side of the coast. Denis also said that there wasn’t a policy initiative yet, which is a major problem in protection of the tribes.
Fortunately, though, the Nicobar appears to be protected from the pandemic so far. Denis said that the Shompen who are on the Great Nicobar Island are isolated, live in the jungle and are safe; and even the Onge are shielded due to being cut off from the settler population.