Millions of people around the world are retreating inside their homes to avoid the coronavirus. But some Rohingya Muslims — persecuted in their home country of Myanmar or languishing in refugee camps in Bangladesh — are still trying to get out.

On Saturday, Human Rights Watch called on Malaysia to stop turning away Rohingya refugees arriving by boat, after the county banned the entry of foreigners as part of a partial virus-induced lockdown.

“Malaysia’s claims to support the rights of the Rohingya mean shockingly little when they push desperate refugees back to sea,” Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic does not create a justification for risking the lives of refugees on overcrowded boats.”

The predominantly Muslim country has previously spoken out against the persecution of Rohingya by Myanmar.

On Thursday, Malaysia’s navy intercepted a boat with about 200 Rohingya and prevented it from entering the country’s waters. The boat’s fate is unknown, according to the Associated Press.

The day before, a boat with 382 starving Rohingya arrived in Bangladeshi waters. Survivors told Bangladesh’s coast guard that Malaysia had turned away the vessel weeks earlier and that at least 30 people aboard had since died, the AP reported.

Malaysian authorities told the AP that they rejected the refugees as part of their efforts to limit entry into the country and other opportunities for the virus to spread.