More than 100 organisations, from human rights groups to research institutes, have signed an open letter expressing their support for the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA), an indigenous Ecuadorian group which claims to have lost two members to Covid-19 following their involvement in a Canadian mining conference.
The letter alleges that seven members of the PSHA were invited to a mining fair organised by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), held in Toronto in March, and that following the event, the mother of one delegate, and the father of another, died, showing symptoms similar to that of Covid-19. A further eight members of the group have since shown symptoms of the virus, raising concerns that the Canadian conference may have inadvertently triggered the spread of Covid-19 among the indigenous group.
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Read more about the spread of the virus among the Shaur Arutam People here.
