• Burmese
Sunday, June 22, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Specials Myanmar & COVID-19

At Least 10 UN, INGO Workers Hit by COVID-19 in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
August 28, 2020
in Myanmar & COVID-19
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
A local resident is seen on a deserted road in Sittwe after the government imposed a partial lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

A local resident is seen on a deserted road in Sittwe after the government imposed a partial lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

13.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State on Aug. 16, more than 10 local employees of UN agencies and INGOs (international NGOs) have contracted the disease in the state, where they worked providing humanitarian assistance to both Rakhine and Rohingya camps while supporting COVID-19 prevention in Rakhine State’s rural areas.

As of Friday morning, Myanmar had 628 positive cases in total, of which 217 were found in Rakhine alone.

The UN’s office in Myanmar said in a statement on Wednesday that “Among those who have recently been confirmed COVID-19-positive in Rakhine, personnel of United Nations agencies, funds and programs and of international nongovernmental organizations have also tested positive and are currently under hospital treatment.”

RelatedPosts

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

June 19, 2025
655
Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

June 14, 2025
658
Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

June 13, 2025
1.8k

The UN office did not officially disclose the number of confirmed cases, however, and could not be reached for further comment.

According to local residents and sources close to the humanitarian agencies, those staff and personnel who tested positive for COVID-19 are from at least five NGOs, including Relief International (RI) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and two UN agencies including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Primary and secondary contacts of those confirmed cases are under quarantine.

Responding to The Irrawaddy’s questions on Friday, UNICEF said that one of the 217 cases confirmed between Aug. 16 and Friday “is a member of the UNICEF team.”

The agency said, “the colleague is in hospital isolation and is doing well” and all UNICEF staff are quarantining in accordance with guidance from the Ministry of Health and Sports and the Rakhine State government.

RI posted on Facebook on Sunday that three of its staff members had tested positive on Aug. 21-22. The three traveled to four Rakhine IDP camps in Mrauk-U over the previous two weeks to provide health care.

According to Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in camps near Sittwe, at least 20 residents of the Ohn Taw Che and Bawduba IDP camps who had close contact with DRC staff who tested positive have also been quarantined since last week.

IDPs in Sittwe, Pauktaw and Mrauk-U—where both Rohingya and Rakhine displaced are taking shelter—who had contact with some of the INGO staff who tested positive have also been tested for COVID-19 and placed under quarantine.

So far, all of the Rohingya IDPs who had close contact with confirmed cases last week have tested negative, according to the state Public Health Department.

After the country detected its first coronavirus cases in late March, the number of local transmissions grew at a slower rate than that of imported cases until Aug. 16, when the first case in the recent outbreak in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, was reported. Since that case—a CB Bank employee—was reported, local transmissions have surged in the western Myanmar state, and humanitarian workers have not been spared.

This week, Myanmar imposed a partial lockdown on Rakhine State’s more than 3 million inhabitants.

The Rakhine State government on Aug. 21 ordered the UN agencies and all INGOs and NGOs to cease their workshops and training activities. The humanitarian agencies can continue provisions of critical life-saving activities, however, including distributing food and providing health services and COVID-19 response activities, while implementing strict COVID-19 preventative measures and following social distancing rules.

Dr. Soe Win Paing, deputy director of the Rakhine State Public Health Department, told The Irrawaddy that health officials had conducted contact tracing and were taking swab samples from both primary and secondary contacts of known COVID-19 cases.

“We followed the cases’ contacts, both primary and secondary contacts. The primary contacts are placed under facility quarantine and secondary contacts are advised to stay in home quarantine. We don’t discriminate between the IDP camps,” he said, referring to Rakhine and Rohingya camps. However, the health officials’ top priority is tracing the contacts of positive cases, he said.

Although Myanmar has tested nearly 150,000 people, the samples were taken mostly from close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases and from suspected patients. The government has not yet been able to test widely across the nation, raising concerns about the risks of further COVID-19 outbreaks in crowded IDP camps. Rakhine State hosts camps for ethnic Rakhine villagers who were recently displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), as well as those for Rohingya displaced by earlier communal conflicts.

To ensure health services reach those IDPs camps, the government works with healthcare provision partners including international NGOs like Mercy Malaysia, according to Dr. Soe Win Paing.

Those humanitarian agencies whose staff tested positive for COVID-19 have suspended direct service provisions. These include UNICEF, which normally provides water, hygiene and sanitation services to people displaced by the conflict between the AA and the Myanmar armed forces.

UNICEF said that while it is following government protocols and holding discussions with partners to identify other options to provide this support, it hopes to resume these services within a few weeks.

It said, “Since January 2020, UNICEF and its partners have provided critical life-saving and life-sustaining support to approximately 225,000 people in Rakhine.

“However, if the current suspension of our direct programs and that of some of our partners continues, some of the activities—such as provision of clean water, latrine maintenance or support for malnourished children—could be at risk.”

Despite the challenges, the UN in Myanmar pledged in its statement to continue providing these services to some 670,000 vulnerable people across Rakhine State.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: AAcampsIDPsinfectionsINGOslocal transmissionsMilitaryNGOspositiveRakhineRohingyaservicestestUN
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
AA Urges Myanmar Junta Troops to Surrender as Western Command Burns
War Against the Junta

AA Urges Myanmar Junta Troops to Surrender as Western Command Burns

by The Irrawaddy
December 18, 2024
25.3k

Ethnic army reportedly poised to capture regime’s last stronghold in Rakhine State.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar General in Charge of Shan State Disaster Handed Surprise Promotion
Burma

Myanmar General in Charge of Shan State Disaster Handed Surprise Promotion

by The Irrawaddy
February 5, 2024
24.4k

Naing Naing Oo elevated to Lieutenant-General and made chief of powerful Bureau of Special Operations No. 2, in a reshuffle...

Read moreDetails
Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front
Analysis

Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front

by Moe Sett Nyein Chan
January 23, 2024
22k

The military’s demoralized Western Command is feeling the heat as the Arakan Army closes in on towns in northern Rakhine,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Chief of Eastern Command Purged After Karenni Defeats
Burma

Myanmar’s Chief of Eastern Command Purged After Karenni Defeats

by The Irrawaddy
January 12, 2024
20.1k

Major-General Hla Moe is reportedly the latest junta commander to pay the price for sweeping gains made by resistance forces. 

Read moreDetails
‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA
Burma

‘Midnight Massacre’ at IDP Camp in Myanmar a War Crime: KIA

by The Irrawaddy
October 10, 2023
18.8k

Death toll expected to rise after bombs obliterated village for internally displaced persons in Kachin State shortly before midnight on...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Col. Saw Chit Thu, the commander of the local Border Guard Force, attends a celebration of the group’s ninth anniversary at Shwe Kokko, Karen State, on Aug. 20, 2019. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

In Myanmar's Karen State, Ex-Insurgents Create a Haven for Chinese Casino Bosses

--

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

2 days ago
877
The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

2 days ago
655

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    Myanmar Junta Moves to Seize Sagaing Roads

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Certifying a Chinese Security Invasion; Boosting Ties With Nuclear North Korea; and More

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Changes Election Law Ahead of Polls

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Residents of Myanmar Ruby Hub Speak Out as TNLA Mining Takes Toll

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.