Health officials told to raise awareness about Omicron variant at schools in Arakan State

By DMG 31 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
31 May 2022, Sittwe 

With the opening of Myanmar’s public schools set for June 1, health officials have been instructed to raise awareness about the coronavirus’s highly contagious Omicron variant at schools in Arakan State, said Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the Department of Public Health. 

“We have been instructed to raise awareness about the Covid-19 pandemic when schools reopen,” he said. 

The Arakan State Public Health Department administered the Covid-19 vaccine to schoolchildren aged between 12 and 18 across the state’s 17 townships in the previous academic year. 

The state’s Public Health Department now has plans to vaccinate 386,000 children aged 5 and older, with a new academic year in Myanmar fast-approaching. 

A total of nine Omicron variant cases were recorded in Arakan State in February, and Dr. Soe Win Paing said the awareness campaign underway would highlight Omicron’s particularly high transmissibility. 

“Omicron is one of the highly contagious variants. We are urging the public to follow the regulations imposed by the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of Covid-19, such as not assembling in groups; maintaining a social distance of at least six feet; and wearing a face mask when outside the home,” he added.  

Dr. Soe Win Paing urged the public to abide by the rules and regulations regarding Covid-19, and to be aware of the risks associated with the deadly virus. 

Since February, new coronavirus infections have declined dramatically both in Arakan State and across Myanmar, according to the regime’s Ministry of Health. The ministry said just 10 new cases were reported nationwide on May 31, down from a peak of about 6,000 new infections reported daily at the height of the virus’s worst wave in July of last year.