Covid-19 in Amazonas and vulnerability in health and indigenous education

Abstract

This article will deal with the pandemic of the new Coronavirus (Covid-19), as consequences for the indigenous peoples of Amazonas. It is important to highlight that the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai) recognizes that indigenous peoples are more vulnerable to viruses, specifically respiratory infections such as Covid-19, causing mainly the death of children and the elderly. Named by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) as the municipality with the most indigenous people in the country, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, in the northwest of Amazonas, recorded a rapid advance of the disease among peoples, in addition, it is the city with the largest number of contamination among Indians in the State: there are 3,018 cases and 51 deaths, until August 25, 2020, whose indigenous people were of the following ethnic groups: Baré, Baniwa, Tukano, Wanano, Piratapuia, Tariano and Dessano. Across the Amazon, data from the first week of October 2020 reveal that the number of cases exceeds 144,000, with more than 4,200 deaths. Of this total, there are 836 deaths of indigenous people in Brazil, of which 182 are from Amazonas, according to data from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) and Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Amazon (Coiab). Given this scenario, social isolation alters the daily lives of families, impacts income and also compromises education in closed schools due to the health crisis.