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Brazil

COVID-19: ICRC donates personal protection equipment and hygiene products in Amazonas and Roraima

Brasilia (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivered donations of personal protection, sanitary and cleaning products on Wednesday and Thursday (April 7 & 8) to the Manaus (AM) Transit Shelter and to the Hospital de Campanha da Área de Proteção e Cuidados (Protection and Care Campaign Hospital - APC), in Boa Vista (RR), in an effort to assist vulnerable communities battling COVID-19 in Northern Brazil.

Last Thursday, April 9, the ICRC donated hydrated ethyl alcohol and more than 18,000 pairs of gloves for medical procedures in Roraima in the hope of ensuring the proper hygienic conditions for the site and for the safety of health professionals throughout the first few months that the hospital is up and running. The facility sprang from efforts involving Operação Acolhida (Operation Shelter) and, when opened, will include 1,200 beds in addition to 1,000 extra beds for people affected by or who may have contracted the novel coronavirus. The space will also be used to care for Brazilians living in communities outside Boa Vista.

In Manaus, the Transit Shelter receives migrants who are benefiting from the Operação Acolhida program, where they undergo a medical evaluation before traveling to their destination cities. In response to the pandemic, the federal government has maintained the voluntary transfer of migrants to other regions of Brazil while reinforcing sanitary measures to prevent the novel coronavirus. The ICRC donations delivered on April 8 included alcohol, bleach, detergent, and other cleaning products – enough supplies to ensure that the area is kept sanitized for three months and thus providing added safety to migrants, authorities and humanitarian workers.

The head of the ICRC office in Boa Vista, Fernando Fornaris, who also coordinates the ICRC's activities in Manaus, asserted, "We think that it's extremely important to enhance measures to prevent contamination in both heavily traveled areas and in hospitals. As a humanitarian organization, we have to share responsibility with local authorities and other international organizations to safeguard vulnerable populations from being more exposed to the pandemic. Given the COVID-19 crisis, humanitarian work can not cease."

The ICRC has had an office in the capital of Roraima since 2018, where the institution has been working on projects involving access to water and sanitation in partnership with federal, state and municipal authorities. "Access to drinking water and sanitary facilities are key factors in dealing with the pandemic. Constructing wells, bathrooms and sinks in community centers, indigenous communities and hospitals and schools in Pacaraima will play a crucial role in the fight against COVID-19," Fornaris added.

The ICRC's office in Roraima has also adapted the provision of connectivity services between migrants and their families in order to continue providing care in both Boa Vista and Pacaraima. In Manaus, the ICRC also runs a service to re-establish family ties for migrants and provides support to the Brazilian Red Cross (CVB) first aid station at the Interiorization and Screening Center (Pitrig).

In an effort to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICRC Regional Delegation for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay has continued its humanitarian work by making needed adaptations that are aligned with health recommendations in order to reduce the risks of infection.

Note to editors:

More information and requests for interviews
Diogo Alcântara, ICRC Brasilia, (61) 98248-7600, dalcantara@icrc.org
Sandra Lefcovich, CICV Brasília, (61) 98175-1599, slefcovich@icrc.org
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