The price of face masks has surged three- to fivefold in the Arakan State capital Sittwe following confirmation this week that the deadly coronavirus has made its way to Myanmar.

Days after the Myanmar government announced its first confirmed cases of coronavirus, the price of rice in the Arakan State capital Sittwe has risen markedly due to high demand, rice traders said.

The Arakan State legislature went into recess on March 25 and will remain adjourned until further notice due to the risk of coronavirus spread.

The Myanmar government should lift the internet ban in nine townships of Arakan and Chin states because access to timely and credible information is essential to prevent coronavirus spread, the Arakan Humanitarian Coordination Team said on March 23.

People who came into contact with the first two official coronavirus carriers in Myanmar will be investigated and “systematic quarantines and examinations will be performed,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Sports on March 24.

A child from Chae Taung (Chin) village was killed and 15 people were injured due to fighting on March 23 near Kanni village in Minbya Township, said Salai Tun Hla Kyaw, chairperson of the Chin University Students Group in Arakan State.

A mine attack on a Border Guard Force convoy early Tuesday in northern Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township killed two officers and a private, and injured five others, an officer from the No. 6 Border Guard Force told DMG.

The government has designated the Arakan Army as both a terrorist group and an unlawful association.

The Arakan State Minister for Social Affairs has reported difficulties in travelling to camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) across the state to provide awareness about the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 1,000 people sheltering at the Nyaung Chaung camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kyauktaw Township are in urgent need of food supplies, officials at the camp in Arakan State said.

More than 3,600 civilians from Chin State’s Paletwa Township have been displaced by recent clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA), according to U Soe Htet, spokesperson for the Chin State government. 

A military convoy was attacked by mines on March 23 at about 7 a.m. between Pyone Pyae and Alaechaung villages, near Sane town in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township, a resident of the town told DMG.

Fierce fighting was reported after the Arakan Army attacked the No. 9 Advanced Training School near Kanni village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township on the morning of March 23, MPs and residents said.

Five people were injured by unexploded ordnance on the morning of March 22 at Innbaryi and Gotepehtaung Muslim villages near the Kaladan River in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, locals said.

A public meeting was held on March 20 regarding the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that is to be implemented in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township, with locals afterward releasing a statement that included five demands.

As one of several towns in Arakan State that see an influx of migrant workers returning to their hometowns and villages this time of year, residents of Manaung are flagging the possibility that some could be bringing the coronavirus home with them.

More than 100 locals from Dar Lat (West) village in Ann Township, Arakan State, have fled to Ann town after hearing the sound of heavy and small weapons fire coming from the mountains near their village.

The Myanmar government will step up relief aid provisioning for people displaced by conflict (IDPs) between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on March 20.

The Sittwe District Court on March 20 sentenced Ko Than Hla, aka Ko Min Bar Chay, to 15 days in prison after he and others staged demonstrations last year calling for justice in the killing of civilians in Arakan State.