58 out of 100 people tested in Arakan State infected with coronavirus

By DMG 31 Jul 2021

DMG Newsroom
31 July 2021, Sittwe

Fifty-eight out of 100 people tested for coronavirus in Arakan State returned positive results in a recent sampling, according to Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).

During the first and second waves of Covid-19, only about 40% of the people tested positive when similar samplings were taken, indicating a greater prevalence of the virus amid the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, the health official said.

“I want people to use their own knowledge to control the disease because the virus is spreading so fast,” he added.

Covid-19 fatalities in Arakan State during the third wave have more than quadrupled the combined death toll of the first and second waves of the virus combined: As of 5 p.m. on July 30, third-wave fatalities totalled 175 statewide, according to the Arakan State DPH, compared with 37 during the first two waves combined.

Covid-19 cases have been recorded across all 17 of Arakan State townships, with 42 deaths in Sittwe; two each in Buthidaung, Gwa and Ann; nine in Maungdaw; 20 in Thandwe; 44 in Taungup; eight in Kyauktaw; five in Minbya; 14 in Kyaukphyu; four in Ramree; one in Ponnagyun; six each in Pauktaw and Mrauk-U, three in Rathedaung; and seven in Manaung.

Despite the rising case count and death toll in Arakan State, local people remain weak in following virus-related regulations, Dr. Soe Win Paing said.

U Hla Thein, a spokesman for the Arakan State Administration Council, said that due to the increasing number of infections, action has been taken against those who do not wear masks in Sittwe since July 14.

A total of 2,714 Covid-19 cases were recorded across Arakan State as of July 30. Since Myanmar’s first case was reported in March 2020, the country had recorded 294,460 total Covid-19 infections as of July 31, with 8,942 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.