Quarantine brings hardship for dozens in Kyauktaw Twsp 

By Hnin Nwe 23 Aug 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
23 August, Sittwe 

More than 100 people who are currently under facility quarantine at a football field in Kyauktaw town, Arakan State, have reported facing difficulties with accommodation and boarding. 

Travellers from Paletwa Township, people arriving to Kyauktaw from Sittwe, residents of Mrauk-U who are leaving Kyauktaw to return home, and drivers are among those under quarantine at the sports grounds. 

U Aung Kyaw Than, a resident of Alae Chaung village in Kyauktaw Township, told DMG that civil society organisations in Kyauktaw town and local authorities put people travelling on buses under facility quarantine for 21 days starting August 21 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

“They said all travellers shall be under quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We have been told to stay under quarantine at our own expense. So, people from other places who do not have a relative in the town are facing difficulties getting food. We cannot go outside to buy food even though we can afford to buy food,” he said. 

Most of the people under facility quarantine in Kyauktaw are women who have had to live in close quarters with men and are facing challenges, said one such woman. 

“We have to sleep on the concrete floor without any sheet or bed. There is no mosquito net,” she said. “We have to bathe early in the morning or late at night when the men are in bed. Some women do not take baths because it is inconvenient for them to bathe at a communal bathing place. 

“Some women are facing trouble to get through their periods because they did not have sanitary pads,” she added, pointing out that the quarantine order came suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving many of those affected unprepared. 

Those under quarantine said they are sharing food that the people who have relatives in town are being sent. 

Fifty-nine patients tested positive for COVID-19 in Arakan State from August 16-23, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. The figure represents a dramatic spike in cases, and includes the first local transmissions reported in Myanmar in more than a month. Prior to the recent outbreak, there had been just 16 coronavirus cases in total reported in Arakan State. 

The outbreak is centred on the Arakan State capital Sittwe, where a curfew and lockdown protocols have been imposed. The surrounding townships have felt the effects of the new COVID-19 preventive measures to a lesser degree, primarily in the form of restrictions on travel to and from the capital region.