COVID CORNER

ANDAMAN EXTINCTION

Fears for the survival of indigenous communities living in the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been heightened by the news that 10 of the 50 remaining Great Andamanese tribe have been infected with coronavirus. Six are recovering at home under quarantine, but four remain in hospital.

The tribe lives on tiny Strait Island, one of 572 islands between the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, of which 38 are inhabited. While the government provides food and shelter, some Andamanese people work in the capital, Port Blair, where it is thought they were infected. To date, the island chain has reported 2,268 infections and 37 deaths. The archipelago is home to five indigenous