Myanmar’s de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, said the state will look after the family of a COVID-19 patient from Bago Region’s Pauk Khaung Township who died on Wednesday, as all of the patient’s immediate family members, including two children, have tested positive for the disease.
“I feel sorry for the man who lost his life in Pyay hospital,” said the State Counselor during a live video conference on Wednesday morning with people in Magwe Region working in the fight against COVID-19.
“Losing one person is also a loss for everyone,” she added. “We feel sorry, but having sorrow alone is not enough. We have our responsibility. We must try not to make the situation worse.”
“The state will fully look after his surviving family members. It is the state’s duty. Each of our people is valuable for the country. We value you and will look after each of you as much as we can,” she said.
She urged everyone to take care of themselves and their health by staying home and practicing social distancing, as the latest death due to COVID-19 in Myanmar was a case of transmission through close family contact. She repeated that over-worrying won’t help, but that each citizen’s cooperation can help Myanmar’s fight against the global disease.
At the same time that the State Counselor was holding the video conference with health care workers in Magwe, another COVID-19 patient, a 63-year-old woman, died while in intensive care at Yangon’s Waibargi Hospital.
The country has now seen three deaths from COVID-19.
The man from Bago who died Wednesday was the township administrator for Pauk Khaung. The administrator’s wife, 8-year-old daughter, 10-year-old son and 18-year-old niece were also found to have contracted COVID-19. His wife worked at an international medical center in Yangon. After she fell ill two weeks ago, the administrator took the couple’s children from their home in Yangon’s Bahan Township to Pauk Khaung.
On Wednesday, the Health Ministry was preparing to move the children and niece—who are now in good health—from Pyay General Hospital to Waibargi Hospital, where the mother is receiving treatment.
Union Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye also wrote on his Facebook that the ministry will do their best to help look after these children and will also work to provide them counseling.
According to the Ministry of Health and Sports, Myanmar had reported a total of 22 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday. All 19 surviving patients are in stable condition.
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