Coronavirus infections rise to 21 among teachers and students in Arakan State

By DMG 07 Jul 2021

DMG Newsroom
7 July2021, Sittwe  

Eight teachers and 13 students from Arakan State, where schools are open amid rising Covid-19 infections, had tested positive for the virus as of July 6, according to the Arakan State Education Office.

Broken down by township, the cases included two teachers and eight students from Thandwe, two teachers and two students from Maungdaw, and smaller numbers in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, Gwa, Mrauk-U and Ponnagyun.  

Dr. Tun Tun Thein, deputy director of the Arakan State Education Office, said schools would not be closed statewide amid the rising Covid-19 caseload, contending that students had already missed too much class time due to the pandemic.  

“Schools will not be closed, but are open in line with regulations such as wearing masks and having a social distance of six feet in their classes,” he said. 

Schools where Covid-19 cases are detected are temporarily closed, Dr. Tun Tun Thein added. 

“Teachers who test positive for Covid-19 are admitted to hospitals. Those who have had close contact with them are told to stay at home,” he said. 

Attendance has been notably low and falling at schools in Thandwe, where the first Covid-19 infection of a teacher during the virus’s third wave was reported last month, spooking many parents in the township. 

As of Thursday, 619 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Arakan State during the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, with six deaths attributed to the disease. 

A total of 3,947 new cases and 57 Covid-related deaths were reported nationwide on July 7, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports.