The Chin State government is planning to build a quarantine facility with a 100-person capacity in each of the state’s nine townships, a spokesperson for the administration said, after four truck drivers tested positive for COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday.
Municipal minister Soe Htet said that for the time being, local authorities are carrying out medical checks at the entrances and exits of the state capital of Hakha, testing truck drivers and their assistants for COVID-19 since October 9.
“Doctors and nurses test drivers at the checkpoints into Hakha town between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. and between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.,” he told Khonumthung News. “We have a plan to carry out medical checks in other towns in Chin State, too, particularly district towns including Mindat and Tedim.”
The Chin State government is using rapid test kits provided by the Union government to test truck drivers and health workers for the coronavirus.
Minister Soe Htet added that the Chin State government needs to put in requests to Naypyidaw for the number of test kits that they need.
Drivers must present a health recommendation letter from their ward or village headman to present when traveling within Chin State.
There have been 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Chin State. Among them, 11 patients are still undergoing treatment in hospitals in the state, and 38 have recovered. One person in the state has died from the virus.
At the time of reporting, Burma’s Ministry of Health and Sports had confirmed 30,437 cases of COVID-19 nationwide, 693 deaths and 11,769 recoveries.