Myanmar Confirms Third COVID-19 Case
By Zaw Zaw Htwe 25 March 2020
YANGON—Myanmar has reported its third confirmed case of COVID-19—a man who returned from the United Kingdom—following the announcement of the country’s first two coronavirus cases on Monday night.
The Health Ministry said Wednesday a 26-year-old man who arrived from the United Kingdom has tested positive for COVID-19.
The man arrived home in Yangon’s Insein Township on Saturday after flying into Yangon via Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The patient has been isolated at Insein Hospital since Monday with COVID-19 symptoms, including coughing and a fever.
The Health Ministry said the man tested positive for the disease on Tuesday through the National Health Laboratory.
U Wai Phyo Han, a lawmaker from Insein in the Yangon parliament, told The Irrawaddy Wednesday that the patient and his younger brother, who took care of him, were sent to Yangon’s Waibargi Infectious Disease Hospital Wednesday morning and are receiving treatment.
Seven of the patient’s other family members were instructed to self-quarantine at home and township authorities are now searching people who were in close contact with the patient.
“We have asked the respective officials how he got through the government’s quarantine process at the airport,” said U Wai Phyo Han.
The Myanmar government has announced that people who have travelled to countries hit badly by COVID-19 will be quarantined upon arrival in Myanmar to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Health Ministry announced the country’s first cases of COVID-19 on Monday after a 36-year-old who arrived from the United State and a 26-year-old who arrived from the United Kingdom, both Myanmar nationals, tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the World Health Organization data from Tuesday, nearly 400,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 16,000 people have died from the disease.
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