CSOs urge closure of border trade gates as Covid-19 infections rise in Arakan State

By DMG 24 Jun 2021

DMG Newsroom
24 June 2021, Sittwe 

Arakanese civil society organisations have urged authorities to close border trade gates as the number of Covid-19 cases in Arakan State is increasing. 

Ma Oo Khaing Thein, manager of the Rakhine Youth New Generation Network, said border trading gates in Maungdaw Township should be temporarily closed because multiple Covid-19 infections came from among those involved in the border trade. 

“If the government does not close border trading gates, it needs to supervise strictly at the gates to prevent Covid-19 infection,” she said. 

Six Covid-19 cases were reported in Sittwe, Taungup and Maungdaw townships on June 23, and a woman from a location 4 miles from Maungdaw town also tested positive for the deadly virus on June 24. 

U Zaw Zaw Tun, secretary of the Rakhine Ethnics Congress, said medical checks and Covid-19 prevention measures should be conducted systematically at border trade gates, adding that closure of the border gates is the best solution at the moment. 

“If travellers at border trading gates are placed in quarantine and tested for Covid-19, there will be no problem. If there are no precautionary measures, and authorities cannot guarantee that returnees are under surveillance and tested for Covid-19, there will be the risk of community transmission. And they will have to take responsibility for that situation,” he said. 

U Hla Thein, spokesperson for the Arakan State military council, told DMG that returnees at Sittwe’s Shwe Min Gan border trade gate and Maungdaw’s border trade gates are treated in line with Covid-19 prevention regulations. 

Daw Nyo Aye, chair of the Rakhine Women’s Network, said border trading gates should be closed, adding that the rising Covid-19 case count over recent weeks was “pretty concerning for the state.” 

According to the Arakan State Public Health Department, there have been 87 Covid-19 cases in Arakan State since May. 

The department has reminded the public to adhere to the Covid-19 prevention regulations announced by the Ministry of Health and Sports, including wearing face masks when outside the home and washing hands frequently.