Refugees and COVID-19
Millions of refugees worldwide are exposed to violence, family separation, culture loss and exile. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) exposes these populations to a new threat, one that could prove to be more devastating than the events forcing them to flee their homelands. Refugees are vulnerable to COVID-19 as they live in conditions that disproportionately increase their risk of contagion. For example, in densely populated refugee camps, social distancing is challenging and if basic sanitation is lacking, proper hand hygiene is close to impossible. COVID-19 outbreak could exhaust medical resources and overwhelm camp hospitals which would lead to a rise in deaths from other infectious diseases, such as malaria.
The refugees’ fear being isolated in quarantines and separated from their families, or even killed to slow the pandemic. The social stigma associated with COVID-19 may encourage illness concealment, delay early detection and treatment, increase distrust in health authorities, lower the likelihood of compliance and prolong recovery.
Humanitarian agencies serving refugees emphasize the importance of global support for the receiving countries so that they can continue their efforts of solidarity, medical care and economic support.
