Health experts fear that the new coronavirus will destroy indigenous communities in Brazil. Older people are at greater risk of dying from the virus, which has killed 486 people, and infected more than 11,000 people in Brazil.
Experts say this will cause "chaos", because the elderly are known for wisdom and overseeing social organization. To tackle the outbreak, some communities are divided into smaller groups equipped with fishing gear to wait for the outbreak in isolation.
"There is a high risk that the virus will spread through indigenous communities and may cause it to be eradicated," said researcher Dr. Sophia Mendonsa of the Federal University of Sao Paulo. Coronavirus can have the same effect as other deadly epidemics, such as measles, in the 1960s, which killed 9% of people infected in a "Yanomami" society.
Many societies do not have the facilities to wash hands with soap and water in order to slow the spread of infection; most people do not have access to medical care.
Community members were told to stop sharing dinnerware, and to isolate those who were infected. But many groups already living in voluntary isolation fear that they will not be able to eat if they cannot reach markets in major cities, which are hotbeds of the emerging virus.
Some of the local communities are "in a state of panic," said the head of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations in Rio Negro, Marryton Barry. A seriously ill patient, in an indigenous tribe, will have to travel 1,000 kilometers by boat to reach a hospital, equipped with respirators.
A nurse working at an Aboriginal Health Center said that the staff do not have enough masks and equipment, and they do not have test equipment to deal with cases in the indigenous villages.