Responsible people have been instructed to make careful checks on illegal entrance and exit along the border with Bangladesh as Bangladesh has detected the presence of the Lambda variant of Covid-19, said U Hla Thein, chair of the Arakan State military council’s information team. 

A Myanmar army soldier was killed on Saturday near Tha Yet Kin Manu, a Muslim village in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State.

Construction and repairs have been completed on six of seven inter-village bridges in northern Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, that were damaged by recent flooding. 

Although Arakan State has seen less rain recently, floods may occur again if the Kaladan and Lemro rivers’ waters exceed critical levels, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH). 

A mourning ceremony was held on Friday for two men who were killed during a night of fire and gunfire amid the Tatmadaw-Arakan Army conflict in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township about one year ago. 

The state government will investigate and take action against media outlets that use the term “military council,” U Hla Thein, a spokesperson for the Arakan State military council, told DMG.

Primary schools will reopen only after Covid-19 infection rates fall below 50%, the Arakan State Administration Council said on August 21.

Some of Arakan State’s main crab exporters have suspended their businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s ongoing third wave, while others are significantly scaling back operations to survive, according to crab traders.

Many express passenger buses in Arakan State have pivoted to transporting goods instead of people as the ongoing third wave of Covid-19 keeps traveller demand low and adds onerous restrictions for bus line operators.

An illegal fishing boat sailing from Yangon to Bangladesh was intercepted by the Myanmar navy on August 20, with its crew subsequently detained in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township. 

The Shwe Pyi Tan ferryboat service, which temporarily suspended its operations on July 20 in an effort to help curb the spread of Covid-19, will resume operations on August 24, according to an official from the ferryboat service. 

As many as 50,000 displaced people from Arakanese and Muslim IDP camps in Arakan State will be vaccinated against Covid-19, a member of the Arakan State military council told DMG on Saturday. 

Arakan State recipients of Covid-19 vaccines supplied by China during the pandemic’s ongoing third wave will receive their second jab starting later this month, according to Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the state’s Department of Public Health.

Former Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker for Myebon Township U Pe Than, who had remained a member of the Steering Committee for Policy Affairs of the Arakan National Party (ANP) even after the military voided the 2020 election results earlier this year, has resigned from the party.  

Reopening of the border trade camps in Arakan State will depend on the status of the Covid-19 pandemic in neighbouring Bangladesh, according to the head of the Arakan State military council’s information team, U Hla Thein. 

Local youth organisations in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U District have provided basic food items to support families and members of the grassroots who are struggling to make ends meet during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The number of Covid-19 infections and deaths reportedly dropped in most Arakan State townships this week, with the exceptions of Gwa and Kyaukphyu townships.

Farmers in Arakan State say they are facing difficulties as fertiliser prices have increased by as much as 50% this year.

A low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal crossed Auritha beach in India before it became a depression and as a consequence, Arakan State will get more rain over the next two days, according to U Hla Tun, deputy director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.