This Burmese New Year was already set to be unlike any other in recent memory.
Mass gatherings and water-spraying dance stages known as pandals were banned by mid-March as a precaution against the global coronavirus outbreak.
Now people are being advised to avoid any outdoor celebrations at all, as the country confronts a growing number of Covid-19 patients, with so far 21 cases and one death.
A 24-year-old Myanmar woman from Yangon’s South Okkalapa township returned from South Korea via Thailand on March 26. She became the latest Covid-19 patient, the health ministry announced today.
The Yangon and Mandalay governments along with Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi are telling people to stay at home during Thingyan, which was scheduled for April 12 to 17.
“One touch means one transmission. Always be aware of it. Don’t be disheartened because during this Thingyan you cannot go out and throw water,” posted Aung San Suu Kyi on Facebook.
Crowds are prohibited, said the leader, adding that the next two to three weeks would be decisive on whether the virus would spread quickly in Myanmar.
"'They say that “health is the greatest of blessings,'” she wrote. “We can all make this great donation with good will whereby we can all give the greatest of health blessings not only to ourselves but to others as well. By controlling ourselves we can develop the power of concentration. In this very special Thingyan we can perform very special kusalas (good deeds). We can do this at home without moving and staying still."
Huge crowds of mostly young people let loose, drink, and dance across Myanmar for Thingyan. Some save money for months to use on tickets for concert and pandal tickets.
Icy water is flung onto strangers, cars, and bicycles, revellers pass out drunk in parks. But if the instruction is heeded, at least the annual spike in drunken driving and traffic accidents may drop.
Mandalay’s mayor Ye Lwin posted yesterday on Facebook that all vehicles would be banned from leaving or entering the city from April 7 to 21.
During that time, the city will also shut down all hotels and guesthouses, said the mayor.
The Yangon government sent a letter to all of the region’s 45 townships telling their constituents to stay at home from April 10 to 19 unless to buy food or medicine.
Some township officials have relayed the announcement to residents using loud speakers.
In other news, the foreign affairs minister yesterday appealed to other countries for medical equipment and supplies as well as Covid-19 test kits to aid its battle against the virus.
