Coronavirus outbreak shutters schools in Arakan State

By Kyaw Thu Htay 22 Aug 2020

Kyaw Thu Htay | DMG
22 August, Sittwe

Government schools in Arakan State have been temporarily closed, according to a state education official, as a COVID-19 outbreak in Sittwe continues to upend life in the state capital and beyond.

An order was given to shut down schools in Arakan State under the guidance of the National Level Central Committee for Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19, said U Tin Thein, the Arakan State education officer.

“An official letter was issued by the National Level Central Committee for Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19. I instructed the district and township education officers to shut down schools temporarily beginning August 21 until further notice after I received a phone call from the Arakan State minister for social affairs,” he said.

High schools across Myanmar that met standards for COVID-19 prevention and mitigation returned to class last month after the pandemic pushed back the normal academic calendar.

Out of over 400 basic education high schools in Arakan State, only 221 schools were able to reopen on July 21. But with the state-level order issued over the weekend, all schools will close their doors again until further notice.

Fifty-one patients tested positive for COVID-19 in Arakan State from August 16-22, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. The figure represents a dramatic spike in cases, and includes the first local transmissions reported in Myanmar in more than a month.

Prior to the recent outbreak, there had been just 16 coronavirus cases in total reported in Arakan State.

Lockdown measures were imposed on August 20 in some residential parts of Sittwe, and restaurants and tea shops are being allowed to sell food for takeaway only. A nighttime curfew was imposed in the Arakan State capital on August 21.