Rohingya community leaders, UN step up efforts to get refugees screened for Covid-19

Description: 

"...KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): The UN refugee agency and Rohingya community leaders in Malaysia are stepping up efforts to get refugees who attended a gathering to come forward for Covid-19 checks, after cases linked to the event jumped across South-East Asia. More than 670 infections in the region have been linked to the gathering last month at a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. A total of 16,000 people of many nationalities attended the four-day event. Reuters reported on Thursday (March 19) that authorities were trying to track down an estimated 2,000 Rohingya who had attended the gathering. Rights groups said "several hundred" Rohingya attended and that the overall estimate included other refugees, such as ethnic Burmese Muslims.Refugees are considered illegal immigrants in Malaysia and activists say they may fear coming forward for testing..."

Source/publisher: 

The Star

Date of Publication: 

2020-03-20

Date of entry: 

2020-03-21

Grouping: 

  • Websites/Multiple Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Malaysia

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

Text

Text quality: 

    • Good