Local virus outbreak in Myanmar sparks fears for Rohingyas

Rohingya in Myanmar's conflict-wracked Rakhine state expressed fears yesterday  of a coronavirus outbreak reaching their overcrowded camps, after a spate of infections sent the state capital into lockdown.

Nearly 130,000 Rohingya Muslims live in what Amnesty International describes as "apartheid" conditions in camps around Sittwe. The city has recorded 48 cases in the past week, making up more than 10 percent of the about 400 cases so far registered in Myanmar.

Authorities visited the Thae Chaung camp this week to talk about social distancing -- an impossibility as 10 families typically squeeze into a single house -- and gave out hand sanitiser and face masks.

  An overnight curfew order has been in place since Friday, while all public transport -- including domestic flights -- into the capital was suspended.

Some Rohingyas also fear of blacklash as a local Rakhine parliamentarian this week blamed the Rohingya for the virus spread in a Facebook post that was later taken down.