COVID-19 in Cox’s Bazar from natural events such as monsoons and landslides. As Ram Das, who works for CARE International, stated in an interview with NPR: 16 It is four times the density of New York City, eight times the density of Wuhan city. That’s how packed it is...You can’t just keep people inside the house 24 hours. They have to go out for food. They have to go to the community toilets. They have to go to the health centers. So it’s very difficult to make sure that all the million people follow these standards. Muhammad agrees, noting that the condition of the refugee shelters is dire. According to him, families of 10 to 15 people live in small shelters made of bamboo and covered by tarpaulin sheets. He has heard of terrible accidents caused by monsoons, flooding, fires and windstorms. When these accidents occur, refugees become homeless for indefinite periods. Due to climate change, Muhammad believes that unpredictable natural disasters will occur more frequently in the future. Furthermore, shelters that were slated for repair have been postponed due to pandemic-cited justifications. These infrastructural challenges are a significant contributing reason as to why Rohingya refugees have been made even more vulnerable by the pandemic. C Healthcare and Other Services The WHO engaged with the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner office to plan and prepare for a COVID-19 outbreak, 17 primarily focusing on reducing transmission as an early part of their strategy. 18 This focus on reducing transmission allowed medical staff to prepare for cases of infection which would arise in the following months. For example, when cases were first detected, 120 healthcare workers had been trained in clinical case management, 270 beds were available and 300 healthcare workers had been trained in Infection Prevention and Control. 19 Other groups, such as Save the Children, contributed to the construction of an isolation and treatment centre. 20 Yet, as Muhammad points out, the situation in the health sector is complicated. The health services in the refugee camps are understaffed and under-resourced to begin with. Refugees cannot access adequate treatment. In his view, due to corruption, the necessary medical supplies, treatments, medicine, drugs and healthcare products are often ‘sold out’. Although statistics are unavailable, Muhammad has heard of many unnecessary deaths, caused by a lack of necessary medical care and resources in the camp-based hospitals. Additionally, the acute shortage of clean water in the camps is especially problematic during the pandemic; refugees who are already prone to water-borne diseases must also grapple with COVID-19. 16 17 18 19 20 Rohingya Refugee Camps Recorded First COVID-19 Death’ Morning Edition (Michael Sullivan, NPR, 19 June 2020) <https://www.npr.org/2020/06/19/880754372/rohingyarefugee-camps-recorded-first-covid-19-death>. World Health Organization (n 7). ibid. ibid. Ishaat Nabila, ‘Battling COVID-19 Inside the World's Largest Refugee Camp’ Save the Children (Web Page) <https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/health-careworker-fighting-covid-19-rohingya-refugee-camp>. 151