Arakan State News Summary (July 16-22, 2021)

By DMG 23 Jul 2021

16 July 

• Three police officers recently transferred to Manaung Township police station tested positive for Covid-19.
• The Mandalay District Court sentenced six people, including an in-charge of a bus line arrested in Mandalay in October 2019, to eight to 13 years in prison on charges of having links with the Arakan Army (AA).
• Residents of Lay Taung town in Ramree Township were reported to be taking Covid-19 prevention into their own hands, rolling out a local regulation against overnight guests from other townships amid complaints that official efforts to combat the virus were virtually nonexistent.
• Family members of detainees in Mala village, Kyauktaw Township, held a press conference at the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association office in Sittwe to demand the immediate release of those charged with violence.
• A 70-year-old confirmed Covid-19 female patient died at a public hospital in Ann Township at about 6 a.m.
• Twenty-six civilians have been reported missing and 24 others were killed in custody during some two years of clashes between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State, according to the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters group.
• Six new coronavirus cases were detected at Sinbawkaing IDP camp in Mrauk-U Township since it was locked down due to a female IDP testing positive for Covid-19 on July 14.
• Facing charges of incitement and violating Covid-19 regulations, four Arakanese students demanded the swift conclusion of their case, with their vocal protestations outside the courthouse in Sittwe resulting in an altercation with the police escorting them. 
• In response to spiking Covid-19 cases, the central market in the Arakan State capital Sittwe said it would temporarily be limiting hours to half days.
• The Buthidaung Township Development Committee issued a statement saying all shops except pharmacies, basic foodstuffs sellers and petrol stations in Buthidaung Myoma Market would not be allowed to sell at all during the holidays set by the State Administration Council from July 17. 

17 July 

• With Covid-19 fatalities during the pandemic’s third wave in Arakan State rising to 31 on Friday, it appeared likely that by weekend’s end the death toll would surpass the statewide total, 37, of the first two waves of the virus combined, said Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the Arakan State Department of Public Health.
• As a pandemic mitigation measure, vegetable and meat vendors at the Myoma Market in Mrauk-U Township were temporarily relocated to Warit Taw Grounds, near the old town hospital.
• Maungdaw District Hospital in northern Arakan State was reportedly in need of oxygen supplies because the oxygen generator at the hospital requires frequent repairs.
• Colonel Phone Myat, an Arakan Army officer, died of Covid-19, with the ehnic armed group subsequently issuing a statement expressing its condolences. 

18 July 

• The Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) issued a statement of condolences over the death of Colonel Phone Myat, a commander of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army.
• Police arrested and took action against 11 people for drinking in groups along View Point Beach and Strand Road in Sittwe, in violation of recently imposed Covid-19 regulations.
• Fatalities from the third wave of Covid-19 in Arakan State surpassed the death toll of the pandemic’s first two waves combined. 

19 July 

• Some Covid-19 patients in Arakan State who are receiving treatment at hospitals said they have had difficulty accessing food and personal items.
• Two monasteries in Sittwe were placed on lockdown after monks at the separate facilities in the Arakan State capital tested positive for coronavirus.
• In some Arakan State villages, visitors have reportedly been restricted from entering and leaving to control and prevent the spread of Covid-19.
• Five monasteries in the Arakan State capital Sittwe where some monks were diagnosed with coronavirus were placed under lockdown temporarily, and an abbot of Wahbo village monastery in Sittwe Township and another monk succumbed to Covid-19 at Sittwe General Hospital. 

20 July 

• Some ferryboat lines to townships in Arakan State were to be temporarily suspended from July 20 to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to boat line officials.
• The entrance and exit of Ramree in Arakan State will be closed for two weeks from July 20, and visitors from other townships will not be allowed to enter, according to the Ramree Township Covid-19 Prevention Charity. 

• The Arakanese people were urged to stay at home for two weeks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Arakan State, the United League of Arakan (ULA) said in a statement.
• The death toll from Covid-19 continued to rise steadily in Arakan State, with multiple reported deaths due to lack of oxygen, and nearly 30 Covid-19 patients died statewide in the three days from July 18-20, according to figures from the Arakan State-level State Administration Council. 

21 July 

• On Facebook and among civil society, criticism mounted of the Arakan State military council, which has maintained that there is enough oxygen to meet the state’s medical needs as shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic were reported across Myanmar.
• Ko Zaw Htay aka Saw Tun, an in-charge of France-based Action Contre la Faim and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the All Arakan Students & Youths Congress (AASYC), was abducted by a group of unknown men near a religious shrine in Kyauktaw.
• Some nurses at Sittwe General Hospital did not return to work after a series of threatening and insulting posts were made on social media.
• Ko Ba Maung, a 16-year-old boy, was severely injured in a landmine explosion in Ahtet Myet Hle village, Ponnagyun Township.
• Ten policemen were dispatched to provide security for nurses at Sittwe General Hospital after some caregivers there threatened them, a member of the Arakan State military council told DMG.
• The Department of Public Health (DPH) will reportedly provide home-based healthcare services in an effort to prevent unnecessary deaths among people who have Covid-19 but remain at home in Mrauk-U Township.
• An oxygen generator set up by locals in Mrauk-U began operating, helping efforts to supplement a national supply of medical oxygen that has not been up to the challenge of rising pandemic-related need.
• Ashin Arsaya, also known as Sarpyin Sayadaw, died of Covid-19 at Sittwe General Hospital in the Arakan State capital. 

22 July 

• U Kawnanya, an abbot of a youth philanthropic centre in Ceditaung ward, Kyaukphyu Township, succumbed to coronavirus at Kyaukphyu District Public Hospital.
• Some camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State are in need of food, including rice, as well as Covid-19 preventive equipment such as masks, hand sanitiser and soap, according to IDP officials.