Myanmar today confirmed two Covid-19 cases, bringing a total of five, as the country turns to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for more aid to tackle a possible spread sparked by an influx in returning migrants.
A 33-year-old US citizen originally from Myanmar and currently being treated in Mandalay and a 69-year-old Myanmar man being treated in Yangon General Hospital are the latest confirmed patients of Covid-19.
Health ministry spokesperson Dr Khin Khin Gyi told newspaper 7Day News Daily that the WHO has been asked to give more aid for medicine, equipment, and to monitor returned migrant workers—thousands of who travelled over the border from Thailand this week before the closure of land border points.
As Thailand has a total of 1,136 cases, the flow of the returnees across Myanmar has become a source of concern for authorities working to prevent the spread of the virus.
So far Myanmar’s five confirmed cases recently travelled abroad. But experts suspect the virus had already spread locally in Myanmar, which has limited testing capabilities as well as a long, porous border with China, where the disease originated.
One of the latest patients is a 69-year-old man from Yangon’s Mingalar Taung Nyunt township who is also suffering from nasal cancer, according to the health ministry.
He has been receiving treatment at an intensive care unit in Yangon General Hospital since Wednesday after developing a fever, cough, and sore throat on March 18.
The man travelled to Australia a month ago and stopped in Singapore for four days before returning to Yangon on March 14.
A 33-year-old US citizen who is originally from Mandalay became the city’s first confirmed Covid-19 patient.
He returned to Yangon from the United States on March 19 and stayed overnight in South Okkalapa township before taking a bus to Mandalay. He developed a cough and fever during his stay in Chanmyathazi township and was admitted to Mandalay General Hospital on March 25.
He was then transferred to Kandawnadi Hospital, which has been designated to handle Covid-19 cases.
Samples of the latest confirmed cases will be verified at a World Health Organisation-accredited laboratory in Bangkok, said the health ministry.
It urged people who had come into contact with Covid-19 patients to report to their local health authorities
Meanwhile, a man in Mandalay Region’s Mahlaing township has been arrested for attacking staff at Thetkalkyin village administration with a knife after officials checked his health, reported 7Day News Daily.
The man was angry that neighbours had told authorities he had recently returned from China, according to the newspaper.
He reportedly began shouting and swearing when a health official and the village administrator checked his health on March 25. He later attacked and injured a person at the administration office.
