Amid a COVID-19 outbreak in the region, buses and ferry boats suspended operations last month. Many stores are closed and prices are reportedly rising, adding to concerns about supply chains in the region.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Health and Sports, the number of coronavirus-positive patients in Pauktaw Township, Arakan State, had risen to 20 as of September 1, hitting a mark previously described as the upper limit of the hospital’s capacity.

A resident of Kyaukgusu village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was shot dead by security personnel on August 31, locals said.

A teenage boy from Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, was injured by gunfire allegedly coming from a naval vessel in the Mayu River on August 31, according to family members of the victim.

Preparations are underway to receive up to 200 COVID-19 patients at Sittwe General Hospital as medical staff eye an increasing daily case count in Arakan State, said Dr. Zaw Lwin, the hospital’s medical superintendent.

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, people have been instructed to promptly report their travel history to local authorities if they have recently been to Sittwe or other townships in Arakan State where coronavirus infections have been reported this month.

Some camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township are facing shortages of food supplies, according to camp officials. 

A resident of Ngasanbaw village in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township was wounded by an artillery shell allegedly fired by the military on August 29, according to family members of the victim. 

A college student from Ann Township in Arakan State was allegedly beaten by security personnel during an interrogation on August 28, according to the victim.

Since trucks trading goods between Taungup and Pyay in Bago Region have seen those routes suspended due to a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Arakan State, people in Manaung Township are worried about food shortages in the weeks ahead.

Arakan State-based political parties are struggling to conduct social media campaigning for the upcoming general election due to poor internet access in much of the state, officials from the parties say.

Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu has said he is worried about those living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) and other war-displaced populations amid an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus infections in the state.

Lawmaker Daw Khin Saw Wai raised a question at a Lower House session on August 27, asking whether the 500-bed Sittwe General Hospital in the Arakan State capital would be properly staffed as quickly as possible with the cardiac, eye and cancer specialists it needs, as well as provided with the necessary medical equipment for modern treatment demands.

The government vows to ensure that there are no food shortages in Arakan State as the state grapples with an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on August 28 at a virtual meeting on efforts to combat the pandemic in Arakan State.

The Rakhine Ethnics Congress plans to distribute radio handsets to camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State townships struggling to get information about COVID-19 due to government restrictions on internet access, according to Ko Zaw Zaw Tun, secretary of the REC. 

Voting for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State will depend on the security situation as the November 8 poll approaches, according to Daw Tin Hlaing, chairperson of the Arakan State election subcommission. 

A man was shot dead Wednesday night in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, according to the deceased’s family members, who have accused Tatmadaw soldiers of killing him.

A woman was killed and three women were wounded when an artillery shell allegedly fired by the military landed and exploded in Apaukwa village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, on August 27.

Cargo trucks are being allowed to carry on with limited disruption to their normal operations in the gateway township of Ann, in order to avoid goods shortages in Arakan State during the ongoing flare-up of COVID-19, according to the Ann Township administrator.