Virus strikes 10 members of dwindling Greater Andamanese tribe of just over 50 people

Out of the 10, six, who tested positive last month, have recovered and have been put in home quarantine, while four of them were found to be infected last week. They are undergoing treatment at a hospital.

 Just over 50 Great Andamanese people survive today and live on the tiny Strait Island where the government looks after their food and shelter. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with a population of some 4,00,000, has reported nearly 3,000 coronavirus cases with 41 deaths. Authorities sent a team of health officials to Strait Island on Sunday after six members of the tribe tested positive in the archipelago’s capital Port Blair. Many of the tribe’s members travel between Port Blair and their secluded island, and may have contracted the infection in the process. A few tribe members even do petty jobs in the city.“The team tested 37 samples and four members of the Great Andamanese tribe were found to be positive. They are admitted in hospital,” Dr Avijit Roy, a senior health officer in charge of the disease management in the Andamans, said. Dr Roy said that making sure the pandemic does not spread among the archipelago’s other indigenous tribes was now a main priority. “We are keeping a close watch on movements and mass testing some of the tribes,” he said.

 The Andamans is home to five vulnerable tribes: the Jarawas, North Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge and Shompen. The Jarawas and the North Sentinelese haven’t integrated with the mainstream population yet. The North Sentinelese are hostile to outsiders, and no one is allowed on their island.

 According to London-based Survival International, which works for tribal peoples’ rights, the Greater Andamanese numbered more than 5,000 when the British colonised the islands in the 1850s. Suffering from the long term impact of the diseases introduced by the occupation, their numbers dwindled