Myanmar's COVID-19 Center Yangon Imposes More Restrictions as Cases Soar
By Zaw Zaw Htwe 21 September 2020
Yangon – Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports has instructed garment factories in Yangon to close for two weeks and ordered other businesses to work from home to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Every township in Yangon Region, except for the islands of Cocokyun Township, faces stay-at-home orders since the government on Monday expanded its coronavirus restrictions.
On Monday morning, Myanmar reported 5,805 COVID-19 cases, including 94 deaths and 1,260 recoveries.
Cases are rising by around 500 to 600 per day with 671 new cases reported on Sunday.
The health ministry has reported between 200 and 500 daily COVID-19 patients in Yangon.
Yangon Region reported more than 3,700 cases at noon on Sunday while the country’s second hardest-hit region or state is Rakhine State with more than 970 cases.
The health ministry said all garment factories workers must cease operations between Sept. 24 and Oct. 7.
Most private businesses and organizations are instructed to work from home.
However, banks, financial businesses, cold storage plants, fuel stations, medical producers and distributors, drinking water providers and factories producing daily essentials are allowed to keep operating.
The ministry said on Sunday that all Yangon residents must stay at home as numerous people with no travel history or known contact with COVID-19 patients had tested positive for coronavirus in recent days.
It said that from Monday all government staff are instructed to work from home for two weeks and follow restrictions for another two weeks.
Under the stay-at-home orders, only one person from each household is allowed to shop and two are allowed to leave their homes for health reasons. People must wear face masks when outside.
Residents must ask for permission from their ward administers if they need more people to go outside for health, shopping and other urgent issues.
The ministry has threatened anyone failing to comply with its restrictions with prosecution.
On Sept. 1, it initially imposed lockdowns on 28 of Yangon’s 44 townships.
Myanmar’s Committee for Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19 banned domestic travel on Sept. 10. People are instructed not to leave their states and regions without an urgent reason.
Myanmar is fifth in Asean in terms of coronavirus cases after overtaking Thailand, which has reported more than 3,500 cases.
It is behind the Philippines, which has more than 287,000 cases, Indonesia with more than 245,000 cases, Singapore with more than 57,500 cases and Malaysia with more than 10,000 cases.
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