WHO vehicle with COVID-19 samples attacked in Myanmar

A World Health Organization (WHO) vehicle transporting COVID-19 surveillance samples was attacked by a rebel group in Myanmar's Rakhine state, state media reported on Tuesday.

The driver was later confirmed dead while the health worker is being treated for injuries.

The United Nations country office <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1062302"><strong>confirmed the attack</strong> </a>in a statement on Tuesday. The driver was enroute from Sittwe to Yangon in a UN-marked vehicle.

With a driver and a health worker aboard, the vehicle transporting the samples to the national laboratory in Yangon was attacked by the Arakan Army group near Yarmaung bridge in Minbya township on Monday evening, reports Xinhua news agency.

Founded in 2009, the Arakan Army is a Rakhine armed group and the armed wing of the United League of Arakan.

Aid agencies are also monitoring the Covid-19 situation in the refugee camps in Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh. Till now no confirmed cases have been reported from the Rohingya refugee camps in either of the two countries..