Anyone returning to Kalay, located in Burma’s Sagaing region, from a foreign country is being placed in a 15-day quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic that has already affected at least 177 countries.
Currently, there are 15 people (10 males, 5 females) quarantined at the Sitagu eye hospital after health officials implemented the new directive. They can’t leave the facility, have family and friends visit them or contact with any others during their stay. If an individual violates their quarantine, legal action will be taken under the 1995 anti contagious disease law.
In Sagaing region, restaurants, bars and shops will only be allowed to do deliveries.
Kalay GAD officer Khin Maung Cho told Khonumthung News. “The shops aren’t closed; we are allowing items to be delivered directly to homes,” he said.
An entire village in Tedim, located in northern Chin State, was quarantined on Monday after the first case of Covid-19 in Myanmar was confirmed. A 36-year-old man returning from the US was infected with the novel coronavirus. The man arrived at the Yangon airport on March 13 and after suffering from a high fever he was admitted to the Tedim General Hospital.
A 60-year-old female, also returning from the US, is suspected of having the virus. She is receiving care at the Tedim hospital while her lab sample is sent to Yangon for testing. All eleven members of her family have been quarantined.
As of this Saturday, there are 8 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Burma, including a 58-year-old Swiss national that works for the United Nations in Naypyitaw. The woman fell ill after returning to Burma on March 18. The government announced all travellers returning from countries with high infections of Covid-19 will be quarantined upon arrival.
On Thursday, the government ordered half its staff to work from home, instructing them to restrict the number of visitors to their home.
According to a real-time map by the John Hopkins University on March 28, there were 597, 335 confirmed covid-19 cases, 27,365 have died and 131,712 have recovered from the virus.