"As Myanmar’s efforts to contain the coronavirus continue, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi warned on Saturday that anyone who has illegally entered the country and anyone aiding them will face legal action. “Those who come into the country illegally, those who receive them knowingly, and those who cover up will be dealt with strictly and severely according to the law,” she wrote, reiterating the government’s stance. Prior to her warning, the National-Level Central Committee for Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19 said Wednesday that some Myanmar nationals have reentered the country illegally, despite government efforts to process returnees at official reception centers in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The committee warned that “if anyone enters Myanmar through any unauthorized entry point from a foreign country and if such person has been accepted with the knowledge that such person has entered the country illegally, it is hereby notified that legal action would be taken in accordance with prevailing laws.” Health care staff and authorities have been conducting temperature checks and health screenings of returnees at international airports, ports and border entry points. Since mid-May, all returnees have been placed into 21-day quarantine and tested for the coronavirus before being released. As of Sunday, 27,502 migrants have returned to Myanmar through land borders from Thailand since May 23 and thousands more have returned from China. Since April 30, 3,762 Myanmar nationals have returned on repatriation flights. “All of us need to prevent and severely restrict illegal border crossing,” the State Counselor wrote on her Facebook. She added, regarding those who entered illegally and did not go into quarantine, that “if they carry [COVID-19] disease, it could spread to others.” She said that conducting contact tracing for illegal returnees and placing those who were potentially exposed into quarantine is “a huge burden” for the country but a necessary measure for the people’s safety..."