COVID-19 precautions include quarantine for Arakan State returnees

By Nay Yaung Min 17 Apr 2020

Nay Yaung Min | DMG
17 April, Sittwe

A communique issued by the Arakan State COVID-19 Control and Emergency Response Committee indicates that district-level committees formed to combat the deadly virus will arrange home and community-based facility quarantines for people returning to Arakan State from other parts of Myanmar.

An official letter from the state-level committee was circulated online on April 16, and said the directive would apply to returnees to Arakan State arriving by land, water and air routes.

The letter mentions that the decision was made during meeting No.3/2020 of the Arakan State COVID-19 Control and Emergency Response Committee held at the Arakan State government office in Sittwe on April 15.

The letter directing the Sittwe, Mrauk-U, Maungdaw, Kyaukphyu and Thandwe district-level COVID-19 committees was signed by Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Min Than, who serves as chairman of the Arakan State COVID-19 Control and Emergency Response Committee.

DMG attempted to contact the Arakan State Minister for Municipal Affairs U Win Myint — who also acts as a spokesperson for the state government — seeking confirmation of the letter’s contents, but a person who answered his phone said the minister was on leave because he felt unwell.

The letter also reads that government employees returning to Arakan State from various corners of the country would be kept under home quarantine.

“We have submitted a request to the local government to systematically monitor people coming to Arakan State from other regions and states and conduct home quarantine for them,” said Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director for the Department of Health (DoH) under the Ministry of Health and Sports.

Despite the DoH disseminating information on quarantine procedures, some people were reluctant to abide by the guidance, Dr. Soe Win Paing said.

“For example, we advise local people not to gather [in groups of] five people and above. If local people violate the ban, we will take action against the law breakers,” he added.

The National Health Laboratory in Yangon reported that 88 people had tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 17. Four people had died from the virus and 79 were under quarantine at hospitals around the country, though the vast majority of hospital quarantines (68) are taking place at Yangon's Waibargi Specialist Hospital for Infectious Diseases.