Almost six months after the arrival of the novel coronavirus in Brazil, Covid-19 continues to spread to indigenous communities and cause deaths. Every day, two Indians die as a result of the disease in the villages.
Despite the gravity, the government is still only discussing projects to protect the indigenous population, despite being compelled by a recent Supreme Court Decision.
Data from Sesai (Secretariat of Indigenous Health) indicate 352 deaths of Indians due to Covid-19 in the villages and a total of 21,064 confirmed cases of the disease, until Friday (21). Every hour, five indigenous people are contaminated.
The numbers, however, may be higher. According to the balance sheet of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples, 700 Indians have died from Covid-19 and 26,615 have been contaminated.
The data is incomplete because Sesai only counts indigenous people who live in communities. The body does not include those from cities or in non-demarcated areas.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon