6 August 2021, SittwThe Charity Youths Organization, a local philanthropic group in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, will provide food assistance to 200 families who are facing livelihood hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Peace Process Steering Committee (PPST) said in a statement on August 5 that the military government’s recent annulment of the 2020 election results was a setback for the country’s democratic transition.

The United League of Arakan and Arakan Army (ULA/AA) have jointly issued a statement urging people in Arakan State to stay in their homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19, acknowledging that in some places individuals who do not follow pandemic-related rules are punished.

Bus fares are increasing on routes to Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships in Arakan State, according to drivers and passengers. 

Two oxygen plants in Arakan State’s Thandwe and Mrauk-U townships that had suspended operations for different reasons restarted production on August 5, officials from the facilities said. 

The Tatmadaw conducted checks on some houses in Gyogar Kwin village, part of Arakan State’s Taungup Township, after an unidentified group abducted a village official.

With Taungup Township tallying the second highest third-wave coronavirus death toll in Arakan State, people looking for routine medical care and treatment for common illnesses are finding health clinics closed and alternatives limited as shortages of basic medicines are reported at pharmacies across the state.

Pregnant women in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State have not had access to full healthcare services during the ongoing third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Arakan State has surpassed 3,000 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic’s third wave began some two months ago, with 239 fatalities attributed to the disease over that period, according to the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).  

An oxygen plant in Mrauk-U was forced to temporarily halt production as the electricity supply to the town was cut off this week, according to officials from the facility. 

The United League of Arakan, the political wing of the Arakan Army, has announced plans to establish a judiciary parallel to the existing legal system in the state, saying it would be accepting complaints in an effort to provide another path to justice for the wronged.  

Arakan State Administration Council spokesman U Hla Thein has urged people not to attempt to provide medical treatment at home if someone is suspected of contracting Covid-19.

Food supplies for flood victims in northern Maungdaw Township cannot be transported to their intended destinations because bridges connecting the villages were damaged or destroyed during the recent flooding. 

Four villages in Myebon Township and three villages in Ann Township, as well as Kanhtaunggyi town, have reportedly been without electricity for nine days as of August 3.

Local civil society groups and authorities in Arakan State’s Ramree Township have been working together to reduce the spread of Covid-19 since August 3, in part by detaining those caught out in public without a face mask after 12 noon. 

Myanmar’s military caretaker government on Sunday appointed a retired deputy director of the Education Department in Arakan State as minister for ethnic affairs in Chin State.

Civil society organisations that are assisting with Covid-19 prevention activities in Arakan State’s Ramree Township are in desperate need of personal protective equipment (PPE), they said, including hazmat suits and other coronavirus preventive supplies. 

 Ethnic literature teachers working as daily-wage staff in Arakan State have not yet received their salaries for July, according to the teachers. 

Residents in Thandwe Township, Arakan State, have been receiving the Covid-19 vaccine since July 30, causing crowds that are themselves raising concerns about the potential spread of the virus, according to local social organisations.