Infected passenger dies on Yangon-Thandwe bus, two others test positive for Covid-19  

By DMG 12 Jul 2021

DMG Newsroom
12 July 2021, Thandwe 

A man on a highway bus traveling to Thandwe from Yangon died en route on Sunday and was later found to have been infected with Covid-19, with two fellow passengers subsequently also testing positive for the virus. 

The male passenger fainted and fell to the floor of the bus at Baydar checkpoint, 26 miles from Arakan State’s Gwa Township, according to the Htarwara Metta Free Funeral Service. 

The man was a resident of Thandwe town and died on the way to Gwa Township General Hospital, where his body was tested for Covid-19 post-mortem, said Ko Kyaw Myint Maung, a member of the funeral charity group. 

“The bus took him to the hospital and arrived at the hospital at about 1 a.m. The patient died on the way. We will conduct his funeral in line with Covid-19 regulations,” he said. 

The bus driver and all 32 other passengers on the bus were tested for Covid-19 following the incident on Sunday. 

“Two men tested positive for Covid-19. They are isolated and the remaining passengers are under quarantine. The bus has been disinfected,” said Dr. Ye Win Tun, the Thandwe District General Hospital superintendent.  

In Thandwe Township, three Covid-19 patients died on July 11 and six others were on supplemental oxygen as part of their treatment regimen. 

Of the three fatalities, one woman died two hours after she arrived at the hospital in Thandwe. T 

The other two patients, both men, were on emergency supplemental oxygen when they died, said U Tayzeinda, who is assisting with Covid-19 prevention activities in the township. 

Ma Saung Hnin Wai, chair of the Phyu Sin Thaw Twe Let Women’s Organisation in Thandwe, said she was worried about a worsening situation as infection rates and the death toll continued to climb in Thandwe Township. 

“I don’t see the government issuing statements to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19, or people working to prevent Covid-19 infections. They are going outside as normal,” she said. “Now, a Covid-19 patient is seen on the bus. So, bus lines should suspend their operations as they did in the first and second waves of Covid-19.” 

As of July 11, Arakan State had recorded a total of 853 Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths during the ongoing third wave of the pandemic.