The Falam Christian Ministers Fellowship (FCMF) has imposed a ‘stay at home’ order for Falam town to curb infections amid a major COVID-19 outbreak that is overtaking the region.
FCMF Chair Rev Daniel Vai Lian Zul explained the lockdown is in effect from June 23-30. “We will observe if we can reduce COVID-19 infections and the death toll in our town before lifting it,” he said. The fellowship instructed residents to stockpile food and other rations while promising to assist those in need.
Vai Lian Zul said there are over 70 people infected with the virus at the hospital. He said the lockdown is necessary because there have been already twelve people who died in the small town located in northern Chin State.
According to FCMF, most people died because there wasn’t enough oxygen available at the hospital.
There is an oxygen generator in town. However, it only produces about 1,200 litres a day or 30 tanks. Each tank, which is 40 litres, has enough oxygen for one patient for 5 hours.
In Kalay, located about 107 km northeast of Falam, health officials said there could be as many as six people who died from the disease on June 21.
“One positive patient and five suspected of having COVID-19 died in their homes,” said a volunteer with the COVID-19 Control and Protection Team. With the hospital unable to care for everyone, the volunteer said the new cases are staying in their homes, poising “challenges” for volunteers whose services are already stretched amid the outbreak.
Volunteer organizations that have been paying for personal protective equipment, medicine, transportation and funerals themselves are running out of money.
Before, health officials sent people to a government quarantine centre. Now there are too many infections, and the centre is overflowing with patients.
According to a local, there aren’t enough health workers to care for all of the new infections.
“Officials from the military council have not come to observe the situation in the quarantine centre or the hospital,” the source said, leaving the town to deal with the outbreak on its own.