State health official cautions against COVID-19 complacency as case count rises

By DMG 20 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
20 June 2021, Sittwe 

Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the Arakan State Health Department, has warned the public to be mindful of the continuing threat posed by the coronavirus. 

He said directives from the Ministry of Health and Sports had not yet been revoked, meaning gatherings of more than 50 people were still to be avoided, and other COVID-19 protocols including that individuals maintain a social distance of six feet apart, wear masks whenever going out, wash hands frequently, and avoid going out in public unnecessarily. 

“These instructions must always be abided by. We have to warn as it has been mentioned in the task book of the Ministry of Health and Sports. We have to obey these instructions and be mindful of the COVID-19 disease,” he said. 

Dr. Soe Win Paing added that the department has carried out COVID-19 testing and raised awareness about the disease as well as closely monitoring people who enter via the border. 

In Sittwe, the number of people who wear masks when going outside has decreased and there are increasingly people who hold ceremonies and other public gatherings, said a nurse from Sittwe General Hospital. 

U Maung Sein, a town elder in Sittwe, said because the number of confirmed cases has recently increased in Arakan State, the responsible people have to contain the disease strictly as they had done in the previous year.  

“It is not a new disease. So, we have to educate people again to prevent COVID-19 infections. And, we have to take action [against those who fail to obey instructions] in line with existing laws to control the disease,” he said. 

U Maung Sein said he wanted operations at border trade centres to be immediately suspended as a significant number of the recent COVID-19 cases in Arakan State came from among those returning from Bangladesh via official border trade routes. 

The number of COVID-19 positive patients in Arakan State has reached 69 on June 17, and most are returnees from Bangladesh, according to the state health department.