First Rogingya dies of coronavirus at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh

Dhaka: A Rohingya man died from novel coronavirus while undergoing treatment at the isolation centre at Ukhiya camp in Cox's Bazar on Monday night.

The deceased could not be identified immediately but he was around 70-year-old, Dr Abu Toha MRH Bhuiyan, health coordinator of the Refugee, Relief and Rehabilitation Commission said.

This is the first case of a Rohingya man dying from coronavirus, he said adding that several Rohingyas have already got infected and have been kept at the isolation centre.

Earlier on May 16, two Rohingyas tested positive at Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar, forcingthe local administration to put some 5,000 Rohingyas at the camp under complete lockdown.

Meanwhile, the government, UN agencies and NGOs have been working intensively to enhance testing, isolation and treatment capacities in Cox's Bazar, said the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG).

UNICEF said it was preparing a 210-bed Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Isolation and Treatment Centre after the first coronavirus case was confirmed among the Rohingya population in Cox's Bazar.Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas, most of them entering Bangladesh since August 2017.(UNI)