YANGON—Nearly 30 staff from the Myanmar Union President’s Office and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s State Counselor’s Office have been placed in quarantine after a senior official at the President’s Office tested positive for COVID-19, according to sources close to both offices.
Both the patient and the deputy director of the Public Health Department in Naypyitaw confirmed the case to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday morning. The official tested positive during one of the frequent COVID-19 tests conducted on the office’s staff.
President’s Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay was among those quarantined, as the patient had close contact with him. U Zaw Htay also serves as the director general of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s State Counselor’s Office. The President’s Office and State Counselor’s Office work closely together, with senior officials from the former required to assist those in the latter.
It was not immediately clear if President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would need to be quarantined.
The spokesperson, the patient and another senior official from the President’s Office were present at a press conference last Friday. Around three dozen journalists who attended that press briefing have also been quarantined.
As of Wednesday morning, Myanmar had 1,807 COVID-19 cases. Naypyitaw has reported a total of 13 COVID-19 since Sept. 2.
Myanmar is the midst of a rapid spike in cases, reporting nearly 100 new cases daily since last week. Yangon, the commercial capital, has reported a total of 675 cases since Aug. 19.
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