One case of Covid-19 at a quarantine site in Yangon had returned from Rakhine state, the epicentre of Myanmar’s latest outbreak, announced the Ministry of Health and Sports last night.
The patient who had travelled from Rakhine capital Sittwe was among 11 new cases; four were in Sittwe, four were in Rakhine’s Buthidaung township, one was in Yangon's Kamayut township and the remaining one is a Mon state resident who had recently returned from Singapore.
Of the country’s 474 infections (as of this afternoon), 72 have come from Sittwe, which has been placed under stay-at-home orders and a 9pm to 4am curfew since a jump in cases last week.
The health ministry stated the new wave might be a more infectious but less deadly virus mutation detected recently in Malaysia as well as Europe and North America.
Infections in the Rakhine towns of Mrauk-U and Thandwe have exacerbated fears that the conflict-torn state may be overwhelmed with cases. Sittwe General Hospital has a limited capacity and the state is facing a shortage of essential protective equipment, a Sittwe-based doctor wrote yesterday in Frontier Myanmar.
Concern has also turned to camps hosting around 100,000 Rohingya displaced by communal conflict since 2012 and at least 23,000 people displaced by fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army.
Aid workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 have visited the Rakhine camps, and although no infections have been confirmed among the displaced people, social distancing is not an option in the cramped living spaces.
Authorities are being urged to restore 4G internet access to the camps and other areas of Rakhine state so people can stay informed about the virus—the government has cited security reasons for the restriction.
Across the border in Bangladesh, about 750,000 Rohingya refugees—who hope to see the last of their own internet clampdown—marked three years since fleeing the Myanmar army today, with Covid-19 forcing them to hold a day-long “silent protest” inside their flimsy, leaky huts.
In other coronavirus-related news, former National League for Democracy (NLD) member Nyi Nyi, also known as Tun Myint Aung, called for legal action against Aung San Suu Kyi for violating Covid-19 restrictions.
Nyi Nyi filed a complaint to police and the health ministry on August 24 after Aung San Suu Kyi visited the homes of NLD members in Naypyidaw on August 19.
Crowds of more than 30 people—the current Covid-19 limit—flocked to the visit, causing Nyi Nyi to question “if government officials are being treated equally before the law.”
However, an NLD official told Myanmar Now the gathering was out of their control, while police added a case would not be opened into the incident.