Border trade camps have been ordered closed from July 15-31 due to the rising rate of Covid-19 infections in Arakan State, meaning commodities must be shipped by July 15, according to trade unions.

Two Covid-19 fatalities in Thandwe Township on July 11 and one in Kyaukphyu Township the same day brought the Arakan State death toll to a dozen during the pandemic’s ongoing third wave in Myanmar.  

Two residents of Khone Taing village in northern Maungdaw Township went missing on July 10 after they went out foraging for bamboo shoots, and were found the next day beaten and bound. 

A total of 106 traffic accidents, resulting in 75 deaths and 136 injuries, were reported in Arakan State in the first six months of the year, according to the Arakan State Traffic Police.

The abductions of three Sittwe men in separate incidents over the past six weeks has left their families all the more worried because neither the missing men nor their captors have contacted them. 

Efforts are underway to install an oxygen generator to supply Thandwe District Hospital in Arakan State, and donors are still needed, according to officials tasked with constructing the plant.

The Arakan State military council says it will strictly monitor compliance with Covid-19 regulations issued by the Ministry of Health and Sports with two major religious holidays approaching later this month.

With Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township emerging as a Covid-19 hot spot, markets and restaurants will only be permitted to open for business half days, starting July 10, in an attempt to slow the spread of the deadly virus.  

Most internally displaced people (IDPs) at Taung Min IDP camp in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township are suffering from a rash-inducing skin disease. 

With more than 600 people in Arakan State infected with Covid-19 during the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, plans are being made to install and operate a Chinese-made thermal imaging camera at Shwe Pyi Tan jetty in the state capital Sittwe.

Travellers to Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, will soon be required to present a document that indicates their home address, issued by their respective ward or village administrator, and those who are unable to furnish the document will have to quarantine for 11 days, the Kyaukphyu District Administration Council says. 

With more than 600 people contracting Covid-19 across 13 Arakan State townships in less than two months, efforts are underway to curb transmission of the deadly virus, according to Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).

Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu was indicted on Friday as he appeared via video link for a hearing into the lawsuit brought against him under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, an incitement provision.  

The Arakan State military council said it would temporarily close border trade centres as Covid-19 infection rates continued to rise not only in Arakan State but also in neighbouring countries.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) say no arrangements have been made to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Arakan State’s IDP camps as the number of cases and deaths related to the virus continues to rise sharply in the state and nationwide.

Vendors at Sittwe Myoma Market have been given notifications saying the market will be placed on lockdown if they fail to abide by Covid-19 regulations, the sellers said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Arakan State since January, according to the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).

Seven internally displaced people (IDPs) from a displacement camp in Sittwe, Arakan State, have recovered from food poisoning after receiving emergency medical treatment. 

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.