Maungdaw District reports Covid-19 cluster among BGF and families; statewide cases surge

By DMG 02 Jul 2021

DMG Newsroom
2 July 2021, Maungdaw 

As the number of COVID-19 infections in Arakan State reached 348 on Thursday evening, a massive cluster of cases involving Border Guard Force (BGF) personnel and their families in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships was blamed for a significant share of the growing caseload.  

A total of 160 members of the BGF and their family members tested positive for the coronavirus from June 30 to July 2, according to Dr. Nu Kaythi San, medical superintendent of the Maungdaw District People’s Hospital. Broken down by township, 110 of those infections were in Maungdaw and 50 were in Buthidaung. 

Forty-eight out of 144 people who came in contact with two BGF members who tested positive for Covid-19 on June 30 in Buthidaung Township were found to have contracted the virus, elaborated Dr. Saw Min Thein, medical superintendent of Buthidaung Township Hospital. 

The virus-infected BGF members and their families are being treated at the respective BGF stations in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. They were recently posted to Maungdaw District from mainland Myanmar. 

As of July 2, there were more than 200 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Maungdaw District, with just five recovered patients discharged from the hospital. 

Elsewhere in Arakan State, a 4-year-old in Minbya Township became one of the youngest to test positive for Covid-19 since the third wave of the virus began. 

Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of Arakan State’s Public Health Department, told DMG that the 348 cases reported in Arakan State as of July 1 were from Sittwe, Maungdaw, Thandwe, Minbya and Taungup townships. 

“All of them are in good health,” he said. 

On June 28, a 35-year-old diabetic woman in Sittwe became the first state fatality of the virus’s third wave.  

Dr. Soe Win Paing has repeatedly warned people against large gatherings, urging the public not to leave their homes unnecessarily and to remain at least six feet apart and wear masks when going out is unavoidable, as well as reminding of the importance of frequent handwashing.