Humanitarian organization CARE is opening a 40-bed COVID isolation center in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on 1 August 2021. With the country currently in the grip of its most severe COVID surge since the pandemic began, and monsoon flooding forcing many Rohingya refugees to shelter in communal facilities, the center comes at a critical time.
Ram Das, CARE Bangladesh Deputy Country Director – Humanitarian, said, “The needs are huge and the isolation center will enable us to isolate mild cases from the rest of the community in the densely populated camps.”
The isolation center will include separate well-equipped dormitories for male and female patients, and separate washrooms and bathing spaces, as well as solar electricity, around-the-clock availability of doctors and ambulance facilities, free medicines, oxygen support, and a COVID-19 sample collection facility. The center will provide three meals a day to patients. People with mild COVID-19 symptoms will be referred to the isolation center from the various health facilities in the camps. CARE will monitor suspected and mild COVID-19 cases in the isolation center twenty-four hours a day, while moderate and severe cases will be referred to advanced medical facilities for treatment.
Health volunteer Yeasmin, a Rohingya woman living in the camp, said, “The isolation centre will be good for us. In the camps, many people live together in small shelters. If any family member is infected by coronavirus, isolating is not possible. The isolation center will help people stay separately from their family. If we find an infected person, we will refer them to the center for better treatment.”
Ramesh Singh, CARE Bangladesh Country Director, said, “This isolation center will go a long way in filling a critical gap in services in the camps, given the increasing transmission of COVID.”
Founded in 1945, CARE is one of the largest and oldest humanitarian aid organisations fighting global poverty. CARE has a special focus on empowering and meeting the needs of women and girls and promoting gender equality and works in 100 countries around the world.
For More Information:
Rachel Kent
CARE Senior Press Officer
Rachel.Kent@care.org