Sixteen cases of COVID-19 were reported in Mindat, located in Burma’s southern Chin State, this Monday (September 28). Dr. Zaw Win Naing, the head of the hospital in Mindat Township, told Khonumthung News that all of them were domestic transmissions. The new cases tested positive while in quarantine. It’s why it’s important to wear face masks to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, the doctor said. “Everyone should wear face masks when they leave their homes.” In all, Mindat Township has 19 cases. The government’s Ministry of Health and Sports confirmed 11,631 confirmed cases on September 28, while there were…
Author: Editor
A woman was killed by a landmine this Friday (September 18) while collecting bamboo shoots in the jungle in Chin State’s Paletwa Township. May Nu Thein, 40, and two female friends were in a jungle east of the Kalandan River when she stepped on the explosive device at about 9 a.m. killing her instantly. Zarni, who works with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Paletwa Township, told Khonumthung News that all of the women are Rakhine and from Myoma ward in Paletwa town. During the blast, he said one of the women was knocked unconscious and taken to Paletwa Public Hospital…
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) staying in camps in Paletwa town in southern Chin State say their current food supplies will only last a matter of days. The IDPs fled clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army. The Chin State government, World Food Programme, and various civil society organizations have been providing them with food assistance. “The quota of rations will run out on September 20, so they are going to have difficulties,” Zarni, a volunteer helping the IDPs, told Khonumtung News. “We tried to buy rice with donated money. Here in Paletwa, the price of a bag of…
The Chin National Front (CNF) is urging political parties that want to launch electoral campaigns in their territory to inform the ethnic armed organization in advance. The recommendation was made in a September 7 CNF statement. “The reason for it is to control the spread of COVID-19,” CNF spokesperson Salai Htet Ni told Khonumthung News, adding, “We want all political parties to follow the health guidelines of the UEC [Union Election Commission].” Salai Htet Ni said that the Chin National Party had already contacted the CNF regarding their campaign in Chin State. The spokesperson also alleged that some political parties…
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township say that they are in need of COVID-19 protective equipment, including face masks. COVID-19 infections are on the rise in Burma, with the Ministry of Health and Sports reporting 3,636 cases of the virus on Wednesday, along with 39 total deaths and 832 recoveries. “The IDPs do not have enough face masks. We can only provide two masks per person in IDP camps, so it’s difficult to wear these all the time,” Zarni, who is helping the Paletwa IDPs, told Khonumthung News. “We have run out of face masks, so…
The Chin State government doesn’t plan to halt bus operations, social welfare minister Pau Lum Min Thang has said, even though COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Burma. He noted that the routes still operating are fewer than before. “The number of buses which come from central Burma to Chin State has gradually decreased. There is no bus operation between Hakha and other regions. Therefore, we do not need to stop bus operations in Chin State,” he told Khonumthung News. “If bus operations are stopped in central Burma, bus operations will be automatically stopped in Chin State… [But] we…
Electoral candidates have said that they have faced difficulties launching campaigns in southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township due to ongoing regional stability as clashes continue between the Burma Army and Arakan Army (AA). Soe Htet, Chin State’s current municipal minister and a National League for Democracy electoral candidate for Paletwa’s Constituency 1, said that even though he’s been able to start campaigning in downtown Paletwa and nearby villages, he’s unable to travel to communities in more remote areas of the township, such as those near the borders with Bangladesh and India. “It’s difficult to go there. The Union Election Commission…
Residents of Lay Myomyit Valley don’t have food or medicine after vital transportation routes have been shuttered as part of a partial lockdown in Rakhine State during an outbreak of coronavirus. Lwi Thawng, who lives in Ko Pe Chay village, told Khonumthung News all the roads to his village, in between Rakhine and Chin states, have been closed for five days. “We depend on Mrauk-U for food and other supplies, but now all entry and exit points are closed and we have run out of food and medicine in our area.” Over 15,000 people live in over 60 villages in…
More than 50 pregnant women suffered miscarriages in Chin State’s Paletwa Township over a period of six months, a phenomenon that medical professionals and civil society representatives say is linked to the insecurity caused by ongoing armed conflict in the region. At least 54 women were confirmed to have miscarried in the township between January and July. During this period, an offensive by the Burma Army against the Arakan Army (AA) in southern Chin State and Rakhine State also intensified. Burma News International (BNI) reported there were at least 11 clashes between the two forces in Paletwa in the first…
The Chin State government is ramping up preventative measures in response to the recent coronavirus outbreak in neighboring Rakhine State. The government said medical checkpoints will be installed at all major entry points to towns, where they will take temperatures and scrutinize citizens’ travel history. After the numbers of confirmed cases exploded in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, Soe Htet, spokesperson for the Chin State government, said the government is taking immediate action to prevent an outbreak in Chin State. “When the infection rate was decreasing, people did not want to pay attention to the coronavirus. Authorities…