Pauktaw faces limited hospital capacity as township’s first COVID-19 cases are reported

By Khin Tharaphy Oo 26 Aug 2020

Khin Tharaphy Oo | DMG
26 August, Sittwe

Local authorities will likely face difficulties accommodating patients if the number of coronavirus cases in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State, surpasses 20, officials said.

The situation with Pauktaw Hospital’s limited capacity has been brought to the attention of the local government, township administrator U Khin Maung Soe told DMG.

“It was presented to district and state-level officials,” he said. “For the time being, Pauktaw Hospital can accept only 20 coronavirus-positive patients for medical treatment. No instruction has yet been given by the local government.”

According to the Ministry of Health and Sports, 12 people in Pauktaw Township tested positive for COVID-19 on August 25 and one more infection was reported the following day, bringing the total case count in the township to 13.

The coronavirus patients are currently receiving treatment at Pauktaw Hospital, said Dr. Ko Ko Aung, the hospital’s medical superintendent.

“All coronavirus-positive patients are in good health and some people who had close contact with those infected with the virus have been placed under quarantine,” he said.

About 100 people who had close contact with the coronavirus-positive patients are under observation, spread out across a religious building, the town hall and an indoor stadium in Pauktaw town, which have been converted into temporary quarantine centres.

Lockdown measures will not likely be imposed in Pauktaw Township for the time being, said U Aung Kyaw Htwee, an Arakan State MP who represents Pauktaw.

“Being an infectious disease, a viral outbreak could occur in the township, but no lockdown measures have been put in place yet,” he said.

The majority of the coronavirus cases in Pauktaw Township are female students who returned from Sittwe after attending school in the state capital, the epicentre of the current outbreak.

The 179 coronavirus-positive patients reported in Arakan State from August 16-26 represent a dramatic spike in infections, and include 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.