The Arakan State military council says it will strictly monitor compliance with Covid-19 regulations issued by the Ministry of Health and Sports with two major religious holidays approaching later this month.

With Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township emerging as a Covid-19 hot spot, markets and restaurants will only be permitted to open for business half days, starting July 10, in an attempt to slow the spread of the deadly virus.  

Most internally displaced people (IDPs) at Taung Min IDP camp in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township are suffering from a rash-inducing skin disease. 

With more than 600 people in Arakan State infected with Covid-19 during the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, plans are being made to install and operate a Chinese-made thermal imaging camera at Shwe Pyi Tan jetty in the state capital Sittwe.

Travellers to Kyaukphyu, Arakan State, will soon be required to present a document that indicates their home address, issued by their respective ward or village administrator, and those who are unable to furnish the document will have to quarantine for 11 days, the Kyaukphyu District Administration Council says. 

With more than 600 people contracting Covid-19 across 13 Arakan State townships in less than two months, efforts are underway to curb transmission of the deadly virus, according to Dr. Soe Win Paing, assistant director of the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).

Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu was indicted on Friday as he appeared via video link for a hearing into the lawsuit brought against him under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, an incitement provision.  

The Arakan State military council said it would temporarily close border trade centres as Covid-19 infection rates continued to rise not only in Arakan State but also in neighbouring countries.

Internally displaced people (IDPs) say no arrangements have been made to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Arakan State’s IDP camps as the number of cases and deaths related to the virus continues to rise sharply in the state and nationwide.

Vendors at Sittwe Myoma Market have been given notifications saying the market will be placed on lockdown if they fail to abide by Covid-19 regulations, the sellers said.

More than 110,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Arakan State since January, according to the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).

Seven internally displaced people (IDPs) from a displacement camp in Sittwe, Arakan State, have recovered from food poisoning after receiving emergency medical treatment. 

Eight teachers and 13 students from Arakan State, where schools are open amid rising Covid-19 infections, had tested positive for the virus as of July 6, according to the Arakan State Education Office.

General Yawd Serk, the interim leader of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) formed of the 10 ethnic armed group signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, has been allowed to resign and was replaced by Nai Aung Min, the PPST said on July 7.

As part of efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 in Mrauk-U, vegetable and meat vendors at the Myoma Market will be temporarily relocated to Warit Taw Grounds near the old town hospital from July 7, according to the township development committee. 

There were 214 cases of dengue fever reported in Arakan State from January to July 6, according to a source from the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH).

A man infected with Covid-19 died on July 6 in Taungup Township, Arakan State, becoming the fifth in the state to succumb to the virus during the ongoing third wave of the pandemic in Myanmar. 

An internally displaced couple from Wibizatadi IDP camp in Sittwe, Arakan State, died from food poisoning on July 6, according to the Shwe Yaung Myitta Foundation.

Two prosecution witnesses were heard by the Taungup Township Court on Monday in a case against three Taungup residents, including a member of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), who have been charged under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law.