New coronavirus detected among indigenous people for the first time.

Brazil Current Network - The government, through the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health of the Ministry of Health, confirmed this Wednesday (1st) the first case of Covid-19 in an indigenous person. The disease, caused by new coronavirusThe virus was detected in a 20-year-old woman from the Kokama ethnic group in the Amazon region.

The young woman lives in the village of São José, located in the municipality of Santo Antônio do Içá, 878 kilometers from Manaus. In addition to her, 27 other indigenous people are being monitored in the village after contact with a non-indigenous doctor who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Of the people being monitored, 12 are from the Tikuna ethnic group, from another village, Lago Grande. They had contact with the same doctor days before, in mid-March. According to the ministry, the first tests for COVID-19 were negative for all of them. However, they remain in quarantine, as do the 15 from the São José village.

Among the symptoms presented by the Kokama woman is a dry cough, characteristic of the virus. Tests on more individuals have already been arranged, as well as confirmatory tests to avoid false positives. The analyses are being carried out by the Central Health Laboratory (Lacen) of the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation, in Manaus.

The young woman gave interview for the portal Real Amazon"I received the result of my test. As expected, it was positive for COVID-19. On March 18th, I was in contact with a colleague who had COVID-19. Three days later I developed a cough and lost my sense of smell and taste. Since then, I have been away from my work," he said.

In addition to reporting the symptoms, she apologized to the community, even though she was infected while performing her work assisting indigenous people who lack medical care. The Kokama people number around 14 in the Upper Xingu region. Their territory includes portions of Colombia and Peru.