The Arakan State Private Schools Association has reportedly urged private schools, tuition classes and hostels in Arakan State to shut down operations until April 30 due fears of the spread of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

One person was killed and three others were injured when a car overturned at a village in Taungup Township, Arakan State, according to a local social organisation.

Twenty-nine Muslims who recently returned to Arakan State from Bangladesh are being kept under 14-day quarantine and monitored for indications of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, said U Soe Aung, the deputy commissioner of Maungdaw District.

A police lance-corporal from Myoma Police Station in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, was reportedly shot last week and is receiving medical treatment at a military hospital in Sittwe, according to local residents.

Fewer people are working at clay pot-making businesses in Arakan State’s Manaung area as demand for the pots and their usage dwindles. 

A Grade 10 student from 5th-Mile village in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township was injured by a stray bullet while having dinner with her family inside their home on March 25, according to the father of the victim.

The Arakan National Party (ANP) urged the government on March 25 to restore mobile internet access in Arakan and Chin states so that residents can get official announcements about coronavirus without delay.

 Ko Tun Kyi and Ko Chan Maung, who were charged under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law for organizing a public meeting about the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), were released on bail on March 26 after being questioned, according to Kyaukphyu SEZ Watch Group. 

Clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) broke out near Seitaya village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township on March 26, forcing residents in five villages to flee their homes, according to locals.

Seven students who staged a protest last month against government policy and military actions in Arakan State were sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour on March 25 by a court in Yangon.

The price of face masks has surged three- to fivefold in the Arakan State capital Sittwe following confirmation this week that the deadly coronavirus has made its way to Myanmar.

Days after the Myanmar government announced its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, the price of rice in the Arakan State capital Sittwe has risen markedly due to high demand, rice traders said.

The Arakan State legislature went into recess on March 25 and will remain adjourned until further notice due to the risk of coronavirus spread.

The Myanmar government should lift the internet ban in nine townships of Arakan and Chin states because access to timely and credible information is essential to prevent coronavirus spread, the Arakan Humanitarian Coordination Team said on March 23.

People who came into contact with the first two official coronavirus carriers in Myanmar will be investigated and “systematic quarantines and examinations will be performed,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Sports on March 24.

A child from Chae Taung (Chin) village was killed and 15 people were injured due to fighting on March 23 near Kanni village in Minbya Township, said Salai Tun Hla Kyaw, chairperson of the Chin University Students Group in Arakan State.

A mine attack on a Border Guard Force convoy early Tuesday in northern Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township killed two officers and a private, and injured five others, an officer from the No. 6 Border Guard Force told DMG.

The government has designated the Arakan Army as both a terrorist group and an unlawful association.

The Arakan State Minister for Social Affairs has reported difficulties in travelling to camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) across the state to provide awareness about the coronavirus pandemic.