The outbreak of the novel COVID-19 that began in Wuhan, China, killed a Yanomami (an Amazonian tribe) adolescent on 9 April 2020, presumed to have been contracted from gold miners. Although the strong influence of environmental conditions such as place of residence and socioeconomic status on health or illness is irrefutable, scant attention is paid to the interconnectedness of people and how conditions that affect one group ultimately affect everyone globally. The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder or wake-up call of how a more equitable distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels benefits all. Even though indigenous peoples and other socioeconomically disadvantaged communities will likely bear the brunt of the pandemic, no one will be spared its pervasive health, social, economic, and political consequences.
