COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Individual Documents
Description:
"155 cases have been confirmed with six fatalities and 43 recoveries.
• Over 60,300 migrant workers had returned from abroad as of 23 April, according to the International Organization for Migration. As of 2 May, around 42,600 people had been quarantined in over 8,300 facilities across the country.
• As of 30 April, five internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myebon Township of Rakhine State had been home quarantined, after returning from Yangon.
• Preparedness and response efforts, as well as risk communication and community engagement by Government and humanitarian partners continue, reaching IDPs and communities in almost all conflict-affected areas as well as returning migrants in quarantine facilities.
• The Government announced a budget of 2.4 billion Myanmar Kyats (US$1.7million) for preventive measures in IDP camps.
• On 20 April, the World Bank approved a US$50 million loan for the Myanmar COVID-19 Emergency Response Project.
• An Addendum to the 2020 Humanitarian Response Plan has been finalized targeting over 900,000 people, including 50,000 returning migrants and with an additional US$46 million funding requirement..."
Source/publisher:
OCHA (New York) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Sub-title:
Over 5000 workers have returned from China through border gates in Kachin State since April 16, a senior state official said.
Description:
"U Zaw Zaw, director of the Kachin government, said that more than 4000 returnees were natives of the state and about 1500 others lived elsewhere in the country.
“The government has set no cut-off date for the returnees, so they are still being processed from 7am to 2pm every day,” he said. The migrant workers are being processed at the Lwegel and Kanpite Tee border gates. They have been forced to return to the country after losing their jobs in other countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initially, the Kachin government estimated that more than 15,000 migrant workers would likely enter through the checkpoints.
U Zaw Zaw said that none of the returnees have showed symptoms of COVID-19 so far, but one patient had suffered a stroke and one had kidney disease. Kachin has confirmed only one COVID-19 patient so far. Other state and regional governments are working with Kachin to repatriate their residents and put them in quarantine.
Some people have expressed concern that the influx of migrant workers in Kachin and nearby would increase the risk of spreading COVID-19, since thousands of people have fled fighting and are living in temporary shelters in the area.
The Chinese and Myanmar governments met in early April, and agreed to start repatriating the workers on April 16.
The government is also bracing for the return of over 15,000 workers from Thailand who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and has designated the Myawady border gates in Kayin State as the entry point for the returning workers.
Also, the government has also been organising flights to bring back Myanmar citizens stranded abroad due to the pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Cox's Bazar district put under 'complete lockdown'
Description:
"Bangladesh has imposed a “complete lockdown” in Cox’s Bazar district – home to over a million Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar – to halt the spread of coronavirus, officials said Thursday.
Experts have warned that the disease could spread quickly through the cramped, sewage-soaked alleys where the persecuted Muslim minority are housed in canvas and bamboo shacks.
No cases have been confirmed in the camps but one infection has been recorded nearby.
And with the official number of cases doubling to more than 200 nationwide in the last five days, including 20 deaths, officials ordered a lockdown of the district from late Wednesday..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"THE Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is cooperating with relevant departments and organizations to implement protection, containment and response towards COVID-19 in IDP camps across the nation. Yesterday, 2,823 soap bars and 5,646 masks were distributed to 1,000 households of Thetkepyin IDP camp in Sittway, Rakhine State, and to 1,823 households of Saytamargyi IDP centre with an infrared thermometer given to each centre...."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
332.2 KB
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Sub-title:
Workers make surgical gowns at a garment factory in Yangon, Myanmar, May 2, 2020. A garment factory in Yangon has been producing disposable surgical gowns to cope with the increasing demands at local hospitals in Myanmar. Running with at least 40 staff at present, the factory has daily production capacity of 1,400 non-woven fabric surgical gowns at prices of 1,500 kyats (over 1 U.S. dollars) each.
Description:
"A garment factory in Yangon has been producing disposable surgical gowns to cope with the increasing demands at local hospitals in Myanmar.
"We started this to make some donations on our own to the hospitals in need since the Thingyan Water Festival holidays early April, and later we run as a social business which help donors engage with the hospitals through online social media page," Hnin Thet Mon, owner of the factory named Shwe See Sar, told Xinhua recently.
"We do this to support local medical staffs as surgical gowns are needed in their daily routines when treating non-infected patients at this critical time," she said.
Running with at least 40 staff at present, the factory has daily production capacity of 1,400 non-woven fabric surgical gowns at prices of 1,500 kyats (over 1 U.S. dollars) each.
"We target to make 15,000 gowns as the first batch of our production and we have bought enough materials for them from the local market. But, we can't guess how many we can produce next as we have some difficulties buying materials from abroad," the owner said.
Local medical staff have been working on the frontlines to combat COVID-19 pandemic since the disease was first detected in the country on March 23..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Labour issues in Burma
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"MINISTRY of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement donated soap bars and face masks for IDPs in Sittway, Rakhine State on Friday and Saturday as part of their prevention, control and response actions for COVID-19. On Friday, the ministry's officials provided a total of 524 soap bar and 1,048 face masks for 524 households of IDPs in seven monasteries – Amyotha Monastery..."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
453.43 KB
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Sub-title:
Officials claim recent mysterious deaths are not Covid-19 related and that citizens are protected by nation's unique diet and lifestyle
Description:
"If Myanmar’s nominal leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be believed, her country stands out as a global exception without a single reported case of Covid-19.
“Until now no one in our country is infected with Covid-19,” Suu Kyi said in a nationally televised address which to date remains the government’s official position.
Zaw Htay, a government spokesman, said at a March 14 press conference that “Covid-19 is still not present in Myanmar and there have been doubts about that. The government and the Ministry of Health are publishing true news…the lifestyle and diet of Myanmar citizens are beneficial against the coronavirus.”
That official assessment mirrored a March 6 Health Ministry press conference at which spokesperson Khin Khin Gyi said, “[China’s] Hubei province is 1,200 miles away from our country. This geographical factor is preventing the disease from spreading to us. We are fortunate.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"..As the COVID-19 global pandemic has reached every corner of the world, Myanmar, like many other countries, is making rigorous efforts within its limited capacity and resources, to contain the outbreak of the new virus, to protect lives and to mitigate the impacts on the socio-economic life of the people under the guidance of the National-Level Central Committee headed by the State Counsellor. The Government has taken a whole-of-government approach to respond to the challenges, mobilizing the strength of the people and educating the public about the virus and seeking the public participation which is pivotal to the success of the national efforts to fight COVID-19. With a view to ensuring that no one is left uncared for, the government is launching an intensive public awareness campaign about the virus, and disseminating health guidelines and directives prepared by the Ministry of Health and Sports for all communities throughout the country, including Rakhine and Muslim villages and IDP camps. .."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Format :
PDF
Size:
54.71 KB
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Description:
"On motley assortments of inevitable ground reasons, the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps cropped up in Kachin State, Kayin State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Shan State in the Union of Myanmar, where necessary protection and assistance are provided that bring smiles and satisfactions to the vulnerable and the marginalized persons....."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
294.09 KB
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Description:
"UNION Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye held the coordination meeting to continue implementing processes concerning COVID-19 in IDP camps yesterday. The Union Minister said the Ministry of Office of Union Government, Ministry of Health and Sports, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and state/regional governments are working together for protection, containment and treatment concerning COVID-19 in IDP camps across Kachin, Rakhine, Shan, Kayin and Chin states...."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
223.1 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"UNION MINISTER for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye held a video conference yesterday to coordinate the protection, containment and response to COVID-19 concerning IDP camps across the nation. The Union Minister said they have prepared COVID-19 response plans for IDP camps in Kachin State, Shan State, Rakhine State and Kayin State and they have approval from the National Central Committee on Protection, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19..."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
351.95 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"member of a Chinese military medical team works at a laboratory for testing COVID-19 at the No. 1 Defence Services General Hospital in Mingaladon township, Yangon, Myanmar, April 30, 2020. A team of medical personnel from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Thursday provided assistance to Myanmar military in building a laboratory for testing COVID-19..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
In its delayed response to the pandemic, Aung San Suu Kyi’s government prioritizes the country’s ethnic majority.
Description:
"In Myanmar’s northern Kachin state, a short-lived street mural this month showed health care workers fighting to save the planet from a virus cast by death personified. It featured a Myanmar flag and a call for unity amid the coronavirus pandemic: “Stay at home, save lives,” it said. “We fight together.”
Before it was painted over, the mural was intended to raise awareness about COVID-19. Instead, its creators were charged in a case that is emblematic of Myanmar’s inadequate response to the pandemic. The three artists who painted the mural were accused of blasphemy after Buddhist nationalists complained that Death’s robe resembled that of a monk. The arbitrary censorship mirrored larger trends. Slow to acknowledge the coronavirus crisis, Myanmar authorities and leaders are instead stoking nationalism, a trend that both undermines public health efforts and puts vulnerable ethnic groups at risk.
Largely due to lack of testing, it wasn’t until March 23 that Myanmar confirmed its first case of the coronavirus: a Myanmar citizen living in the United States who had recently returned for a wedding. The announcement brought an end to weeks of government bragging about Myanmar’s supposed lack of cases. Nearly two weeks later, the doctor who examined the first patient revealed that no one who had come into contact with him was tested. Health officials then scrambled to administer tests and found that the patient’s mother and a few other contacts were also infected..."
Source/publisher:
"Foreign Policy" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
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Description:
"2,500 migrant per day to be allowed to return through the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border gate
16,324 migrants registered online in preparation to return through the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border gate
3,125 international migrants returned to Kachin State mainly from the People’s Republic of China
SITUATION OVERVIEW
The border with Thailand was expected to re-open on 1 May to allow a second large influx of migrants (estimated 20,000 to 50,000 returns). The Myanmar Government requested to the Thai Government to only allow 2,500 returnees per day through the Myawaddy border gate; however, due to the extension of the Emergency Decree in Thailand until 31 May, returns are delayed for a few more days to allow for the necessary arrangements to be put in place by Thai authorities.
Government Ministries and Departments, the State Government, UN agencies and other actors supporting the COVID-19 response are closely observing the situation in order to quickly respond to potential large scale returns in the coming days. It is expected that approximately 2,000 returning migrants will be quarantined in Myawaddy, while the remainder will be transported from the border to their home communities for community-based quarantine.
On 25 April, the Office of the Labour Attaché at the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok, announced it would organise relief flights for Myanmar migrants stranded in Thailand (Myanmar embassies around the world also announced relief flights); and on 26 April, it also announced that migrants wishing to enter Myanmar through the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border gate following the reopening of the border, would have to register online in advance. 16,324 migrants have registered through this form so far, with the largest numbers indicating they would return to Bago and Magway regions, and Mon and Kayin states..."
Source/publisher:
"International Organization for Migration (IOM)" (Switzerland) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups.
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
906.23 KB (3 pages)
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Description:
"A leading United Nations human rights expert claims the Myanmar military is carrying out "war crimes" against ethnic minorities, emboldened by special extended powers intended to help control the spread of the coronavirus.
Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, accused the military of targeting ethnic Rakhine Buddhist civilians during recent clashes with the Arakan Army (AA), a separatist militant group in the western Rakhine State.
Lee told CNN that houses had been burned, a monastery was attacked and people had been arrested and tortured.
"And then we find bodies that have been decapitated, these are Rakhine people," Lee said Tuesday, as she prepared to conclude her six-year tenure as special rapporteur.
"I am calling the situation crimes against humanity and war crimes. These are the highest, the most heinous and gravest crimes of international law," she added.
CNN has reached out to the Myanmar government regarding Lee's comments but has not yet received a response.
Lee said the Myanmar military has been given a "significant" political role in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected 150 people in Myanmar, including six who died, according to data published by Johns Hopkins University. Key military generals and military-controlled ministries were appointed to a new coronavirus committee in March, increasing the remit of the military under its delicate power-sharing agreement with the country's civilian-led government..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"More than 1,800 factories in Yangon have been permitted to resume their operations after complying with official COVID-19 preventative measures, said Yangon Region’s Ministry for Immigration and Human Resources.
On April 19, the Ministry of Labor ordered that factories could only reopen after introducing COVID-19 preventative measures set by the Ministry of Health and Sports.
By ZAW ZAW HTWE 29 April 2020
Yangon – More than 1,800 factories in Yangon have been permitted to resume their operations after complying with official COVID-19 preventative measures, said Yangon Region’s Ministry for Immigration and Human Resources.
On April 19, the Ministry of Labor ordered that factories could only reopen after introducing COVID-19 preventative measures set by the Ministry of Health and Sports.
Factories had already stopped operations from April 12-19 for the Thingyan holiday.
Daw Moe Moe Su Kyi, the Yangon regional minister for immigration and human resources, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that 1,974 factories had been inspected.
She said 427 factories were permitted to resume operations and 1,432 can reopen while making some minor COVID-19 measures while they are operating.
The minister added that 115 factories failed to meet the guidelines.
Daw Moe Moe Su Kyi added that inspections were continuing..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar is having to weigh competing public health and socioecononmic concerns, all with an eye toward navigating the precarious civil-military balance.
Description:
"Five weeks after confirming its first COVID-19 case on March 23, Myanmar has reported 151 confirmed cases and six deaths. The country’s largest city, Yangon, is the outbreak’s epicenter, though cases have been detected in other states and regions. Limited testing capacity and reports of people under investigation dying before being tested have fueled fears that Myanmar’s outbreak could be vastly under-reported.
In spite of recent reforms and investments, Myanmar’s once-neglected health system under the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS) has limited surge capacity to rapidly test or treat critical cases beyond a moderate number. In early 2020, there were an estimated 600 critical care beds (including 180 ICU beds) across the entire country (roughly 1.1 bed per 100,000 people) while the World Health Organization reported that Myanmar had around 6.7 doctors and 10 registered nurses and midwives per 10,000 population in 2018. Emergency upgrades (such as the establishment of the 2,000-bed COVID-19 Medical Center Yangon at the repurposed Phaunggyi Civil Service Training Institute outside Yangon) and contributions from other ministries, volunteer organizations, and the private healthcare sector have boosted overall capacity. Due to its key focus in tackling communicable diseases, the MOHS has good capacity to conduct contact tracing while the mobilization of schools, meditation centers and madrassahs has provided good capacity for isolating suspected cases, and volunteer organizations have stepped up to assist low income groups. However, the health system remains at very real risk of being overwhelmed should cases grow exponentially..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Schools in Myanmar will re-open in June only if the COVID-19 situation in the country could be mitigated in May, said an official from the education ministry.
Description:
"Basic education schools had planned to re-open on June 1 after the Thingyan Holiday but only if the virus situation returns to normalcy next month, said U Ko Law Win, director general of the Basic Education Department.
The re-opening date could be postponed if the situation becomes more challenging.
The decision on whether schools re-open or not is not solely decided by the Ministry of Education but by senior state officials, said U Ko Law Min. We’ll re-open the schools if the situation becomes normal. If not, we will have to move to a later date. We can’t say exactly when yet. We’ll re-open the schools when we can get the situation under control. No one can say exactly if the situation will allow us to re-open in June, he said.
As of 1pm on April 29, there are a total of 150 COVID-19 positive cases in Myanmar including six deaths and 16 recoveries..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"MYANMAR will resume rice exports from May at regular volumes of 150,000 tonnes.
The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) said 100,000 tonnes will be shipped overseas while the remaining 50,000 tonnes will be traded at the border.
According to reports in the Myanmar Times, government estimates indicate that more than two million tonnes will be allocated for export in the current fiscal year.
About 10 per cent will be retained as food reserves for Myanmar. A total of 112 companies will handle the maritime exports while 200 companies will be involved in the border trade for May.
The MRF said about 60 per cent of the two million tonnes will consist of equal allocations from all the companies.
The remaining volumes will consist of additional allocations from companies involved in contract farming and which made investments in mills or warehouses over the last three years.
MRF is currently in negotiations with some Asean countries and for government-to-government export arrangements.
Executive member of the MRF, U Soe Thun said the country has a rice surplus of between 2.5 million and three million tonnes and these are exported every year.
The country exported about 2.5 million tonnes last year..."
Source/publisher:
"New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Border Trade - general, Rice, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Xenophobic sentiments on social media against “the most discriminated people in the world” – the Rohingya of Myanmar – is on the rise in Malaysia.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Malaysia denied entry to a boat carrying around 200 Rohingya refugees which was spotted by an air force jet off the north-western island of Langkawi. Malaysian sailors provided the Rohingya food before escorting them out of the country’s waters.
“With their poor settlements and living conditions … it is strongly feared that undocumented migrants who try to enter Malaysia either by land or sea will bring (COVID-19) into the country,” read a statement by Malaysia’s air force.
To date, more than three million people have been infected with the deadly coronavirus. The pandemic has prompted governments to imposed drastic measures to contain the outbreak. In Malaysia, 100 people have succumbed to COVID-19, as of 28 April. The country has enacted its nationwide partial lockdown, also known locally as the Movement Control Order (MCO) since mid-March and is due to end on 12 May. This has led to the closure of border gates and the barring of foreigners from entering the country.
"Receiving the Rohingya at times like this could open the floodgates for more foreign nationals and vessels to approach the Malaysian border and therefore hinder the government's effort to fight Covid-19,” said Mohamad Hasan, deputy president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He also said that the country has “far exceeded” its capacity to host refugees..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Workers Fear Increase in Union Busting at Factories During Covid-19 Lockdown
Description:
"In previous years on May 1, workers across Myanmar would rally and march in solidarity for workers’ rights and justice. But this May Day the streets will be quiet, as no marches are allowed with Covid-19 lockdowns and curfews in place.
Most factories in Myanmar closed on April 13 for the annual water festival celebrations. The government then ordered they remain closed until April 30 while Covid-19 related inspections were conducted. More than 500 factories in Yangon and Mandalay have now been inspected and are slowly resuming operations. In the meantime, at least 60,000 workers have lost their jobs as factories shut down amid a global slowdown in supply chain orders caused by the pandemic. Many affected workers toil in the garments sector, where unions in Myanmar have some of the strongest representation. But as factories close, concerns are growing that some employers will use the pandemic as an excuse to attack and dismantle unions.
A union member from one factory told Human Rights Watch that factory shutdowns like these are tactics to fire union members. “Although my factory paid us our benefits and wages, they fired all the union members first,” she said.
More than half a million people live and work in the industrial zones on Yangon’s outskirts. Many have moved from rural areas to find these jobs. They live precariously on empty lots as squatters, or packed into dormitory-style accommodations in quarters shared with multi-generational families and friends..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The total number of COVID-19 infections in Myanmar has risen to 149, with three more confirmed cases reported late Tuesday, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.
All the newly confirmed cases are from Yangon region and were under quarantine as they were in close contact with previously confirmed cases.
According to the ministry's release, 16 patients have recovered from the disease so far.
Myanmar has reported five deaths of COVID-19 as of Tuesday since the infectious disease was first detected in the country on March 23..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
" Myanmar President's Office Wednesday announced the formation of an inquiry committee to investigate into a recent armed attack on a vehicle of the World Health Organization (WHO) carrying COVID-19 surveillance samples in Rakhine state.
The WHO vehicle transporting swab samples to the national laboratory in Yangon was attacked in Minbya township of Rakhine state on April 20, said the President's Office, killing the driver and wounding a health worker on board.
The newly formed four-member inquiry committee is chaired by U Saw, chairman of Citizens' Fundamental Rights Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, the presidential order said.
The inquiry committee is tasked to conduct field investigations at the area where the incident took place, to collect testimonies of witnesses, to acquire evidential materials and information, to gather views from the experts and others.
The committee is given rights to conduct the investigations in accordance with the country's Code of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act as well as to question military, police personnel and other officials who are needed for the inquires..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Workers in Cambodia and Myanmar are facing severe hardships as the spread of the coronavirus decimates their country’s economies and causes widespread factory closures, prompting them to take to the streets to demand assistance from their governments.
In Cambodia, where the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19—the disease caused by the coronavirus—has held at 122 with no deaths in recent weeks, more than 100 workers held a protest in front of the Hulu Garment factory in the capital Phnom Penh on Monday demanding full benefits following a suspension of operations on March 24 due to a decrease in orders from international retailers.
The workers, representing around 10 percent of employees, have been protesting since April 22—except for a break during the weekend—after factory management a day earlier informed them that the facility would close down for good and asked them to quit with the promise of some, but not all, of their benefits.
Worker Heoun Hak told RFA’s Khmer Service that she and other employees are demanding that the factory inform them whether the closure will be permanent, noting that if so, management would be required to pay them full benefits, in accordance with a government order..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese migrant workers, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Over 60,000 workers across the country have lost their jobs due to factory shutdowns caused by cancelled orders and the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of raw material supplies.
Description:
"U Myo Aung, permanent secretary of Labour, Immigration and Population, said on April 29 that 175 factories had stopped operations since the virus outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December. “Over 60,000 people are unemployed,” he said. "Everything was settled in more than 70 factories, but in 105 factories, the workers have not been paid yet.” In Yangon Region, the Brightberg Enterprises bag factory, which dismissed more than 300 employees, was shut down permanently, said Daw Cho Mar Win, an employee.
“The factory is closed,” she said, “but only the owner knows why. Today, they will pay compensation to the employees according to the law.”
About 100 workers staged a strike from March 30 to April 10 to demand full pay for April and to rehire more than 300 workers who had been dismissed. The Labour Ministry is now in the process of inspecting factories that want to reopen, and more than 2000 had been inspected as of April 27..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
New military-steered Covid-19 task force has given cover to a wide-reaching clampdown in the name of national stability
Description:
"After weeks of implausible official denials, Myanmar is finally facing up to the reality of its Covid-19 outbreak.
The nation may also soon face a new political reality as the powerful military, or Tatmadaw, leverages the situation to roll back recently restored democratic rights and reimpose strict social and media controls harking to its previous junta rule.
On April 2, Myanmar acknowledged 16 coronavirus cases and one death from the pneumonia-like disease. But with only a few hundred people tested nationwide and in sight of the country’s abysmally poor medical infrastructure, even health officials believe those figures are likely only the tip of the Covid-19 iceberg.
In mid-March, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s government formed a 21-member committee she now heads to broadly manage the country’s Covid-19 situation..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Due for release in the coming days, the COVID-19 Comprehensive Response Plan will include new economic stimulus measures and increased funding for the health sector, as well as detail on how the plan can be funded.
Description:
"The government is set to unveil a COVID-19 response plan that will expand economic stimulus and social protection measures while also boosting healthcare spending to better prepare the country for an expected rise in coronavirus cases.
The COVID-19 Comprehensive Response Plan is likely to be released in the coming days, Frontier understands, with the government only waiting for development partners to provide feedback on the final draft.
The plan is being kept under tight wraps, with multilateral institutions such as the World Bank – which was heavily involved in drafting the plan – and bilateral donors like the United States, the European Union and Australia, which were all consulted heavily, refusing to comment.
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry officials who led the drafting process did not respond to requests for interview, while ministry spokesperson and permanent secretary U Tun Tun Naing said he had no specific information on the plan.
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Multiple sources familiar with the final draft of the COVID-19 Comprehensive Response Plan told Frontier it provides a coherent picture of the government’s economic plans and will make it easier for development partners to contribute through grants and loans..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The Myanmar government has formed a coordination and cooperation committee to work with ethnic armed groups in the fight against COVID-19, said an order issued by the President's Office on Tuesday.
The presidential order stressed that the government has been making strenuous efforts to adopt measures of prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 without any discrimination on racial and religious grounds, based on a "No one left behind policy".
Chaired by Dr. Tin Myo Win, vice chairman of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center, the four-member committee was formed with an aim to make the measures effective concerning prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 in the areas where ethnic armed groups are residing, the order said.
The committee is assigned to exchange information related to COVID-19 and boost cooperation in monitoring returnees through the border gate, transferring patients if there are suspected COVID-19 cases and tracing contacts, among others.
The committee will conduct coordination and cooperation among ethnic armed groups, regional and state governments in the fight against the epidemic..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Sign up here for our daily coronavirus newsletter on what you need to know, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis.
The Covid-19 crisis has disrupted Myanmar’s efforts to develop its fledgling insurance industry. At the same time, it’s showing why coverage is important, according to Dai-ichi Life Insurance Myanmar Ltd.
The crisis highlights the value of health-care and life coverage in a nation where only about two out of 10,000 people have insurance, said Zarchi Tin, the firm’s chief executive officer. An economic slowdown may make premiums less affordable for some people, she said.
“Like most companies, Covid-19 has brought disruptions to our business,” Zarchi Tin said in a telephone interview Friday. “It’s also made us more agile..."
Source/publisher:
"Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
The latest instalment in our series about wild swimming spots focuses on little-visited Ye in southern Mon State, where we discover shipwrecks, deserted beaches and technicolour sunsets.
Description:
"Ye is very much a victim of its location. Sandwiched between the Mon State capital Mawlamyine and beach magnet Dawei, and with no airport to connect it to the rest of the country, Ye receives just a fraction of the tourist numbers it deserves. But rest assured – it really does have it all. If winding rivers, jungle-buried waterfalls, island boat trips and endless stretches of untouched coastline are your thing, then Ye is definitely the place for you.
Note to readers: Frontier does not encourage non-essential travel within Myanmar at this time, when the country faces the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak. People infected with the virus may show no symptoms, and travel risks spreading it to communities with limited access to healthcare. This article is for those who plan to travel after this risk subsides, when responsible tourism could aid the country’s economic recovery..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"With shock and sadness 16 humanitarian organizations received the news of a fatal shooting incident involving a vehicle of the World Health Organization (WHO) carrying COVID-19 test samples in Rakhine State.
We express our sincere condolences to the family and UN colleagues of Mr Pyae Sone Win Maung, the WHO driver who did not survive the incident, and wish the injured official from the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) a swift recovery.
The incident in Minbya Township on April 20th demonstrates of the urgent need for armed actors in Myanmar to lay down their weapons, heeding the call of the UN Secretary general for a global ceasefire.
The ongoing conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine and Chin States between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army is causing an increasing number of civilian casualties, while severely hampering access to healthcare as well as other efforts to reach communities with much needed assistance in the midst of a global pandemic.
Across the globe and in Myanmar, millions of frontline health workers, humanitarian staff and other key workers are trying to contain the spread of the COVID 19 virus. We must support each and every one of these courageous people, and keep them safe from harm..."
Source/publisher:
"Save the Children" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Myanmar lawyer Thiri had been excited about her wedding and new job this year — before the coronavirus threw both into doubt. With the stars very much unaligned, she turned to an astrology app for help.
For a fee of a few dollars, Thiri’s online mystic advised the 26-year-old to carry out kind deeds around her home, from donating flowers to feeding animals on the street, to ensure good karma.
“I’m going to follow all her advice,” Thiri said, praising the Min Thein Kha app for its convenience at a time when the doors to her usual real-life astrologer at a downtown Yangon temple are securely shut for the city’s lockdown.
The Min Thein Kha platform — the only one of its kind in Myanmar — was launched two years ago. Its creators claim to have two million registered customers and 50,000 daily active users.
Users log on, select one of the 23 astrologers profiled on the app and submit a question, paying in advance by bank or mobile phone transfer with the promise of an audio file reply within 48 hours.
Uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak has seen the number of questions rocket by 50 percent, says Bagan Innovation Technology, the company behind the virtual fortune-telling service..."
Source/publisher:
"Japan Times" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Diseases like coronavirus pose a big risk to refugees. But proper handwashing practices can help keep the threat in check.
Description:
"round the world, communities have been taking precautions to help slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and keep their families safe, including by practicing physical distancing.
But for the more than 850,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in cramped conditions in what is effectively the world’s largest refugee camp, keeping some distance from other members of the community is easier said than done. Many refugees live in flimsy bamboo and tarpaulin shelters where the dangers of everyday life remain all too real, including the high risk of the spread of infectious diseases.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t precautions those living in Cox’s Bazar can take to minimize the risk of contracting diseases like COVID-19. In fact, many of the children there have already been doing one of the most important things they can to protect themselves: washing their hands thoroughly and regularly. Two and a half years ago, Rohingya children arriving in the camps had little or no access to basic water or sanitation facilities. UNICEF and partners moved quickly to establish basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, helping to contain the risk of a major disease outbreak.
In addition, by the end of 2019, UNICEF had set up around 2,500 learning centres, each equipped with a handwashing station providing soap and clean water, which made it possible to reach hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children with lessons on good health and hygiene – including how to wash their hands properly.
Even though the learning centres have been temporarily shut as a precaution against COVID-19, UNICEF continues to distribute essential supplies through its WASH programme, providing safe water and soap for around 240,000 Rohingya refugees – over half of whom are children..."
Source/publisher:
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Op-ed by UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator on the conflict in Rakhine and Chin and elsewhere in Myanmar and need for a ceasefire amidst COVID-19
On Monday April 20 my colleague Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung lost his life as he was conducting a humanitarian mission.
On Monday April 20 my colleague Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung lost his life as he was conducting a humanitarian mission, and the marked United Nations (UN) vehicle he was driving came under fire in Minbya township in Rakhine State. His passenger, an official from the Ministry of Health and Sports, was seriously wounded and we wish him a speedy and full recovery. We have been touched by the outpouring of sympathy expressed by the government, member states of the UN, development and humanitarian partners in Myanmar, and beyond. Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement has condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Sadly, Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung will not be the last to die in the conflict that is ravaging Rakhine and southern Chin states. Nor is he even the most recent. According to local sources, hundreds of civilians, including large numbers of children, have been killed or injured since the beginning of the year. The conflict also continues to damage and destroy civilian structures. The government reports that more than 76,000 people have been internally displaced by the current fighting - on top of the more than 130,000 internally displaced persons in camps since 2012 and the estimated one million others who have fled from Rakhine State for other reasons.
Unfortunately, conflict persists in many parts of Myanmar. On any day, it brings misery to the people who live in the affected areas. It cuts the most vulnerable off from life-saving humanitarian assistance. It robs them, many of whom are the furthest behind in access to services, from development opportunities and pathways out of poverty. And now, like all in Myanmar, they are faced with a new threat, the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19 for the year when it was first detected, that is affecting the world around us and has also arrived in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
The first confirmed case in Cox’s Bazar, on March 24, is a serious concern for aid workers.
Description:
"As countries close their borders and ask their citizens to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, aid organizations warn that the impact of the virus on the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh “could be enormous.” On March 24, the first case was confirmed in the local community in Cox’s Bazar, and it is now only matter of time until the virus reaches the camps, exposing the most vulnerable.
The so-called “social distancing” many countries are practicing to prevent COVID-19 seems a cruel joke to the million-plus Rohingyas who live in the overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Most of them fled the Myanmar Army-led attacks in 2016 and 2017, and at present, are living in poor conditions without access to clean water or adequate sanitation, making them especially at risk of an outbreak.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, a pandemic. As of this writing there have been over 737,000 confirmed cases and more than 34,000 deaths in at least 177 countries. Bangladesh, home to 164.69 million people, has confirmed 49 cases and five deaths to date, but the critical believe those figures are underestimating the real impact. As has been demonstrated in more affected countries, the virus can spread rapidly and mostly undetected in the initial stages..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"...UNION Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye held a video conference with UN humanitarian aid agencies yesterday concerning preparations against COVID-19 for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Speaking at the meeting, the Union Minister said there are 128 IDP camps in 24 townships scatteringe throughout Kachin, Kayin, Shan and Rakhine states that houses 184,333 IDPs. He said they have an action plan to combat COVID-19 for IDPs in their camps, which includes international humanitarian assistance and protection standards and an interim guideline issued by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee..."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), United States humanitarian assistance, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
336.01 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"...THE Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement, in cooperation with relevant ministries and civil society organizations, has commenced a preventive measure to provide health education and handwashing soaps to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kachin, Shan, Rakhine, and Kayin states as part of the prevention, containment, and treatment of the Covid-19 pandemic..."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
451.87 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Myanmar lawyer Thiri had been excited about her wedding and new job this year - before the coronavirus threw both into doubt. With the stars very much unaligned, she turned to an astrology app for help.
For a fee of a few dollars, Thiri's online mystic advised the 26-year-old to carry out kind deeds around her home, from donating flowers to feeding animals on the street, to ensure good karma.
"I'm going to follow all her advice," Thiri tells AFP, praising the Min Thein Kha app for its convenience at a time when the doors to her usual real-life astrologer at a downtown Yangon temple are securely shut for the city's lockdown. The Min Thein Kha platform - the only one of its kind in Myanmar - was launched two years ago. Its creators claim to have two million registered customers and 50,000 daily active users. Users log on, select one of the 23 astrologers profiled on the app and submit a question, paying in advance by bank or mobile phone transfer with the promise of an audio file reply within 48 hours..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The Bangladesh authorities should rescue and welcome Rohingya refugees currently stranded at sea, Amnesty International said today. Other governments must fulfil their shared responsibility to carry out search and rescue efforts, in line with their international obligations to protect life, and allow safe disembarkation of refugees and asylum seekers at sea.
Two fishing trawlers carrying an estimated 500 Rohingya women, men and children are currently in the Bay of Bengal after being pushed away by Malaysia, which has imposed restrictions on all boats in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two trawlers are headed towards Bangladesh a week after an earlier vessel carrying nearly 400 Rohingya refugees arrived there on 15 April. Monitors also believe there could be another vessel still at sea with hundreds more Rohingya stranded, further highlighting the need for governments in the region to get involved in search and rescue operations if needed.
“In contrast to the cruel indifference demonstrated by other governments, who have actively pushed away boats, Bangladesh has maintained its positive record of giving sanctuary to people who have lost their homes and suffered horrific crimes,” said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International.
“We hope that Bangladesh will continue to welcome Rohingya refugees in these difficult times. The international community has an obligation to help the Bangladeshi authorities in this task, including in supporting efforts to set up quarantine centres and provide refugees the immediate medical assistance they require to recover from the journey and to protect them against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”
Amnesty International last week called on Southeast Asian governments to launch immediate search and rescue operations for potentially hundreds more Rohingya refugees languishing at sea..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
More than 100 Myanmar migrants who have been stranded in the United Arab Emirates since late March face an uncertain wait to return home due to flight disruptions and travel restrictions.
Description:
"Ko Khant Oo Maw was in a relaxed mood as he waited at Dubai International Airport early on March 24 to board an Emirates plane to Singapore, where he planned to catch a connecting flight to Myanmar.
“I was even whistling because I thought I would be home soon,” he said.
Khant Oo Maw, in his 30s, was heading home after resigning from his job as a play attendant at the Kids Club at the Jumeirah Al Qasr hotel where he had worked for nearly five years. All told, he had spent the past nine years working in Dubai.
“I submitted my resignation in mid-February when the UAE reported more than a dozen confirmed cases of coronavirus,” he told Frontier on April 21 in a voice message through Facebook’s Messenger app, referring to the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven emirates that includes Dubai.
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“I thought, ‘I’ll need to leave soon or I will be stuck here for a long time’.”
The Kids Club was closed on March 15, but Khant Oo Maw had to wait another week for his employer to cancel his work permit so that he could leave the country. He checked in at Dubai International Airport late on March 23 to begin his journey to Myanmar. All seemed to be going smoothly as he dropped his baggage, received his boarding pass and proceeded through immigration. But as he was about to get on the plane, Khant Oo Maw and four other passengers were told they could not board, because Singapore had banned transit or short-term visitors from midnight on March 23..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"...MINISTRY of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement held a coordination meeting yesterday on drafting a project plan for prevention, control and treatment of the Coronavirus infection at the internally displaced persons-IDP camps. Speaking at the meeting, the project plan is aimed at quickly responding to the possible COVID-19 infection at the IDP camps as the disease can spread rapidly.According to the statistics in January, 2020, there are 128 IDP camps with a total population of 184,333 in 24 townships in Kachin State, Kayin State, Shan State and Rakhine State.“Regarding the project, it is important to disseminate knowledge on prevention and control the Coronavirus infection not only to those living at the IDP camps but also for those taking administrative duty at the camps,” said Dr Win Myat Aye..."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
284.96 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"...THE Tatmadaw True News Team held a press conference at the Defence Services Museum in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. Chairperson of the team Maj-Gen Soe Naing Oo, Vice Chairperson Maj-Gen Tun Tun Nyi, Secretary Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun and officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) clarified confiscations of arms and ammunitions from 28 February to 16 March near Lwal Kham village in Kutkai Township, about K 315 billion worth of narcotic drugs and related items, peace-making efforts in 2020, and thwarting AA groups in their attempts to control a military post in Rakhine over 40 days..."
Source/publisher:
The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Drugs and conflict
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
336.08 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Seven more people tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 139 in Myanmar, said a release from the Health and Sports Ministry.
All the newly confirmed cases had close contact with the previously confirmed cases and were under hotel quarantine.
According to the ministry's release, nine patients have been discharged from the hospital after recovery.
So far, Myanmar has reported five COVID-19 deaths since the disease was first detected in the country on March 23..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar leader's live broadcasts on Facebook draws hundreds of thousands of views.
Description:
"Broadcasting live from Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, Aung San Suu Kyi shuffled some papers, looked straight at the camera and smiled before welcoming her guests to a teleconference call on Facebook.
"Currently, migrant workers are coming back from Thailand and some have resettled in the country. So we are taking the necessary steps to provide quarantine facilities," the country's de facto leader told the more than 300,000 viewers who had tuned into her broadcast on Wednesday. More:
Displaced families in Myanmar's Kachin fear coronavirus threat
Christian pastor who defied Myanmar law positive for coronavirus
Myanmar military steps up attacks as coronavirus spreads
Alongside her, the screen featured three of Myanmar's labour leaders. The first topic of the day was about how returning migrant workers could minimise the spread of the new coronavirus in the impoverished country.
"Those gathered in large groups could be a danger to themselves and the country if they don't follow the rules," Suu Kyi said.
The 74-year-old state counsellor heads Myanmar's coronavirus response team and has reluctantly turned to Facebook to spread her message on the challenges posed by COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Friday spoke over phone with Myanmar's defense minister Sein Win on COVID-19 prevention and control.
Wei said China has passed through the most difficult period of the fight against the epidemic with arduous efforts and has further consolidated the positive trend in its epidemic prevention and control situation.
The Chinese military is willing to strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation and border control with Myanmar to jointly curb the spread of the epidemic in the border areas, Wei said.
Sein Win expressed gratitude to China for its support and assistance, saying that Myanmar highly appreciates and sincerely thanks China for effectively curbing the spread of the epidemic to its surrounding areas.
Myanmar is willing to continue to maintain communication with China and further strengthen cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"A team of medical personnel from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Friday arrived in Myanmar's Yangon to assist the country in fighting against the COVID-19.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai expressed his belief that the arrival of the Chinese military medics will assist in Myanmar's fight against COVID-19 and strengthen the bilateral friendship and cooperation between the two countries' militaries.
Yangon Region Commander Maj-Gen Thet Pon told media that "we do believe that we could fight the disease through collaborations with the Chinese medical personnel in the fields of diagnosis and treatment for COVID-19."
The Chinese military medics will join Myanmar's military medical personnel at the 1,000-bedded Defence Services General Hospital in Mingaladon township of Yangon, he said.
Along with the team, a batch of medical supplies donated by China including medical masks, N95 and KN95 masks and laboratory equipment also arrived in Yangon on Friday.
A 12-member medical expert team from China's Yunnan Province arrived in Myanmar as the first batch of medical assistance from China on April 8 and carried out collaborations with Myanmar's health authorities for two weeks, drawing on their frontline experiences in China..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The total number of COVID-19 infections in Myanmar has reached 132 cases in one month, with five more confirmed cases reported late Thursday, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.
Myanmar reported the first two COVID-19 confirmed cases in the country on March 23.
Of the newly confirmed cases, four patients are from Yangon region while another one is from Mandalay region.
According to the release, all patients have no travelling history in the past 14 days but four of them were in close contact with previously confirmed patients.
Of the total confirmed patients, three patients are being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Waibargi Hospital and South Okkalapa Hospital in Yangon region while the rest of patients are in good condition, the release added.
According to the ministry's release, nine patients have recovered from the disease so far..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar is ill-equipped to handle growing COVID-19 caseload on its own — it requires external help.
Description:
"As the entire world is struggling with the COVID-19 crisis, Myanmar too is feeling the heat with 41 cases, including two cases reported on 13 April morning. Myanmar reported its first case sometime back around 24 March amidst growing scepticism about it’s apparent lack of cases despite sharing a 2,220-kilometer-long border with China.
As may be recalled, China is where the pandemic emerged with the toll put at 83,305. Incidentally, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar while the virus containment initiatives were ongoing, back home. The visit was aimed at cementing bilateral relations further. However, amidst the current crisis, it’s important to re-assess how the relationship may unfold in the days to come.
Till a week back, Myanmar had reported only a handful of cases with no trace of the virus migrating from China. This may be partly since the Hubei province, where the pandemic epicentre Wuhan is located, does not border Myanmar. Also, both the regions have less business dealings.
However, a constant factor that stands tall amidst this humongous crisis is not to offend or annoy the heavy-weighted neighbour while it was facing its critical period. This move has been quite visible while receiving President Xi in Naypyidaw on 18 January. Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi consciously avoided the topic of the new virus so as not to put her guest in an embarrassing position..."
Source/publisher:
"Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar shipped hundreds of recently released Rohingya inmates back to the country's restive western borderlands on Monday (April 20), after fears that its overcrowded prisons could become hotbeds for runaway coronavirus outbreaks.
Men, women and children belonging to the stateless and long-persecuted Muslim minority were among nearly 25,000 prisoners freed last week by a presidential pardon to mark the country's April New Year celebrations.
A Navy vessel transported the group from Yangon to Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live under tight movement restrictions and in conditions Amnesty International has condemned as "apartheid". More than 600 disembarked near state capital Sittwe, while another 200 were taken further north to townships on the border with Bangladesh, state immigration department chief Soe Lwin told AFP..."
Source/publisher:
"The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar Buddhist monks wearing protective masks receive alms from devotees in Yangon, Myanmar, April 23, 2020. The number of COVID-19 infections in Myanmar has risen to 127 in total, with four more confirmed cases reported on Thursday, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar looks to East Asian states to support an ailing economy amid the pandemic.
Description:
"Myanmar has seen a moderate domestic impact from the global COVID-19 outbreak, recording just 85 cases as of April 17. However, the country’s reliance on international trade, investment, and technology means it will face near- and medium-term economic challenges that it is inadequately equipped to deal with alone.
Export volumes for simple manufactured goods have seen the biggest impact. The garment sector, which employs over 700,000 workers and accounts for $4.6 billion in export revenue — or 10 percent of all exports — has faced both supply and demand shocks. China supplies 90 percent of raw materials for the sector; however, exports to Myanmar were halted between January and March. Just as supplies were returning to normal in April, demand for Myanmar garment products collapsed.
Myanmar exports 70 percent of such products to European countries, most of which have been enforcing lockdowns and closing nonessential retail stores. As a result, 25,000 workers from over 40 garment factories have been laid off in Myanmar so far. Recognizing the hardship this is causing, the European Union on April 9 announced a 5 million euro ($5.46 million) aid package for garment workers..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Nestled between giants comprising half the global population, control or contagion in Myanmar has huge ramifications, says Elliot Brennan. STOCKHOLM: As Thailand shut down its border last month, a wave of migrant workers jostled shoulder-to-shoulder back through the Myawaddy crossing to Myanmar.
Some 45,498 Myawaddy migrant workers have reportedly been placed in quarantine – a total of 50,731 people were in isolation as of this week. But the effectiveness of the measures has been questioned. Concern grows that this may be Myanmar’s cruise-ship moment, but it is only one of a growing number. According to figures last week, the country had 62 confirmed COVID-19 patients and four deaths, the results compiled from more than 2,100 tests. Recent cases suggest that some undetected community spread may also be occurring. The donation last week of a testing machine increases Myanmar’s testing capacity from 80 per day to 1,400 – reliant still on obtaining enough reagents to conduct the tests..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Outraged by the injustice faced by people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, we aspire to a world of solidarity and inclusion, enriched by our differences, where everyone can live in dignity”.
Handicap International is changing his name and becomes « Humanity & Inclusion ». HI, Humanity & Inclusion is an independent and impartial aid and development organisation with no religious or political affiliations operating in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable people to help meet their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.
Since the organisation was first founded in 1982, we have set up development programmes in 62 countries and responded to many emergencies. Today we have a budget of around 150 million euros, with 3500 employees worldwide.
HI is engaged in an employment policy in favour of disabled workers..."
Source/publisher:
"Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Thailand-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Refugee advocates say fear of Rohingya refugees carrying the virus is not an excuse to refuse them asylum.
Description:
"Stateless Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar by boat face a "dire, and in many cases fatal predicament" at sea, and countries in the region should allow them to disembark on humanitarian grounds despite the coronavirus health crisis, the United Nations refugee agency has said.
Indrika Ratwatte, director of the UNHCR Asia-Pacific region, said on Thursday the international body is "increasingly concerned" by reports of hundreds of Rohingya refugees on board fishing boats being refused entry to countries despite the dangerous conditions on the smugglers' ships. More:
Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting
Students injured in shelling at school in Myanmar's Rakhine state
UN urged to suspend Myanmar return plan for Chin amid unrest
"We are increasingly concerned by reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress and of the grave immediate risk this poses to the men, women and children on board," Ratwatte said..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Tatmadaw steps up attacks in Rakhine despite epidemic, killing more than 40 people in April alone, say rights group.
Description:
"As deaths from the new coronavirus mounted in South Korea, Iran and Italy in early March, Myanmar's military called off grand plans to mark the 75th anniversary of its World War II revolt against Japanese forces. Instead, the Tatmadaw, as the military is known, deployed soldiers to disinfect hospitals and announced it would set up quarantine facilities to treat infected patients.
But rights groups say the Tatmadaw is doing little where it counts - ending the long-running ethnic conflicts in Myanmar's border states, where some armed groups have called for a ceasefire to focus on the battle against the coronavirus.
More:
Eight killed in Myanmar's troubled western state of Rakhine
Persecution of critics 'continues in Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar'
Myanmar charges journalist under terrorism law, blocks news site
"While the country is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the military is escalating its offensives against ethnic armed groups in Rakhine, Chin, Karen and northern Shan state," said Naw Hser Hser, general-secretary of the Women's League of Burma..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
At least 32 civilians have been killed in western Myanmar since late last month, the UN says, in fighting between the military and an armed ethnic group.
Description:
"The UN described the situation as “dire,” and said almost daily fighting was taking place in areas of Rakhine and Chin provinces.
It is unclear whether civilians were targeted or caught in crossfire between security forces and militants.
The Arakan Army militants are ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.
Myanmar’s military denies targeting civilians.
Countries including the UK and the US have called for an end to fighting amid the global coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 cases have been reported in Myanmar, along with four deaths.
The Arakan Army declared a month-long ceasefire but this was rejected by the government.
In another development, the authorities in Myanmar say they will free nearly 25,000 inmates as part of a traditional new year prison release.
Among those to be released are hundreds of Rohingya jailed for breaking travel restrictions applied to them because they are not recognised as citizens.
Groups monitoring the country’s notoriously overcrowded prisons have been campaigning to get inmates released early to reduce the likelihood of Covid-19 spreading in jail..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
‘Egregious act undermines efforts to protect vulnerable populations in [Myanmar],’ says State Dept. spokeswoman
Description:
"The U.S. State Department condemned Wednesday a recent attack on a UN vehicle in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.
"The United States condemns the April 20 attack on a clearly-marked UN vehicle in Rakhine State, which resulted in the death of one World Health Organization (WHO) employee and the wounding of a health worker," agency spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
The UN confirmed Tuesday that the vehicle carrying swabs from patients to be tested for coronavirus came under gunfire in Rakhine and the driver was killed.
Ortagus said the U.S. understands Myanmar nationals were working to fight the COVID-19 pandemic when they came under attack.
"This egregious act undermines efforts to protect vulnerable populations in [Myanmar] and again highlights the urgent need for a cessation of fighting in Rakhine State," said Ortagus.
She underlined such attacks hinder global efforts to stop the spread of the virus and health and humanitarian workers across the globe "must be able to work without threat of violence – now more than ever."
The U.S. also urged authorities in Myanmar to bring the perpetrators to justice..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"A team of Chinese medical experts aiding Myanmar in the fight against COVID-19 returned Wednesday to Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The team, consisting of 12 medical experts from Yunnan, was established by the National Health Commission. They arrived in Myanmar's Yangon on April 8, with a batch of donated anti-epidemic medical supplies.
According to the team leader Yang Lijuan, the experts offered trainings and technical guidance for and exchanged experience with their counterparts in Myanmar on the COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control.
The team also provided technical guidance and advice on epidemic prevention to Chinese-invested enterprises and overseas Chinese in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"A vehicle of the World Health Organization (WHO) transporting COVID-19 surveillance samples was attacked by the United League of Arakan (ULA)/ Arakan Army (AA) group in Myanmar's Rakhine state, Myanmar's state-run media reported Tuesday.
With a driver and a health worker aboard, the vehicle transporting the samples to the national laboratory in Yangon was attacked by the armed group near Yarmaung bridge in Minbya township of Rakhine state on Monday evening.
The two on board were injured and sent to township hospital for treatment.
The United Nations Myanmar Tuesday confirmed the death of the driver on their Facebook page.
Founded in 2009, the Arakan Army is a Rakhine armed group and the armed wing of the United League of Arakan..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...Myanmar has a decision to make. Take what may seem drastic – and undoubtedly unpopular – measures in the face of a to date low rate of suspected COVID-19 cases in the country or wait and have its hand forced when increased testing and rapid community transmission of the virus portend a potential surge in cases with catastrophic effects for the country. If the potential worst-case scenario is to be avoided, then it becomes imminent that now is the time to react intelligently and proactively to the existential threat posed by COVID-19. Granted some measures have already been enacted, but further steps such as suspending all Thingyan events and festivities, limiting social gatherings to 10 people or fewer and urging diligent social distancing along with wide-scale testing (as available) are of essence..."
Source/publisher:
Mizzima
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...On 31 December 2019, WHO was alerted to a cluster of pneumonia patients in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. One week later, on 7 January 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed that they had identified a novel (new) coronavirus as the cause of the pneumonia (figure 1). The proposed interim name of the virus is 2019‑nCoV. Since the first cases were reported, WHO and its partners have been working with Chinese authorities and global experts to learn more about the virus, including how it is transmitted, the populations most at risk, the spectrum of clinical disease, and the most effective ways to detect, interrupt, and contain human-to-human transmission. This strategic preparedness and response plan outlines the public health measures that the international community stands ready to provide to support all countries to prepare for and respond to 2019‑nCoV. The document takes what we have learned so far about the virus and translates that knowledge into strategic action that can guide the efforts of all national and international partners when developing context-specific national and regional operational plans...."
Source/publisher:
World Health Organization
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
3.46 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...The 855,000 Rohingya refugees who are currently residing in 34 overcrowded, makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh are highly vulnerable to COVID-19. The overcrowded and unhygienic conditions increase the potential for the rapid spread of disease. Given the underlying poor health status of the population, and the limited access to health care and the use of communal hygiene facilities the potential mortality and morbidity risk associated with COVID-19 is likely to surpass global averages. The purpose of this risk report is to support humanitarian responders to understand the primary and secondary risks that a COVID-19 outbreak could pose to the Rohingya Refugee population, based on the idea that this understanding can support mitigation and preparedness measures. This is not a specialised health report, it takes a holistic view of the plausible overall impact..."
Source/publisher:
acaps.org
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
PDF
Size:
892.56 KB
more
Description:
"...BANGKOK - As coronavirus infections spike across South-east Asia, Myanmar and Laos have conspicuously logged zero patients - despite the fact that both share a sizeable border with China, where the outbreak originated.Both countries say all the people suspected of being infected with the coronavirus have tested negative so far. But limited access to testing equipment and reagents mean that they have conducted only some 300 tests for a combined population of 60 million.The official explanation has not assuaged public concern in Myanmar, where at least four patients with symptoms indicative of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, have died in quarantine. Some panic buying of necessities have occurred in Yangon and Mandalay..."
Source/publisher:
Straitstimes.com
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...Myanmar has suspended sending its migrant workers abroad amid Covid-19 fears at present, state-run media reported on Friday (March 20). The Labour Department under the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population recently sent overseas employment agencies a directive for suspension of sending the migrant workers to foreign countries from Wednesday. It was learnt that the issuance of employment contracts and overseas employment identity cards are also being suspended. Thailand, Malaysia and Japan topped the list of destinations where Myanmar migrant workers were sent by the ministry. According to the ministry's figures, a total of 27,330 migrant workers were sent abroad by the ministry in February alone. Of the total, 22,362 workers were sent to neighbouring Thailand...
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Migrant workers from Burma : general and mixed articles and reports
Language:
Local URL:
more
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (The MIMU)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Online health resources, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
JPG
Size:
132.8 KB
more
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (The MIMU)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Online health resources, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
JPG
Size:
105.04 KB
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Trade plummets, factories close, thousands near unemployment as virus spares Myanmar's population but preys on industries
Description:
"All eyes in Myanmar have been on the country’s parliament since a debate on proposed constitutional amendments commenced last week.
However, a group of military-appointed lawmakers stole the limelight on Wednesday with a distinctive arrival at the Union Parliament in the political capital, Nay Pyi Taw.
It was not because they carried guns to parliament; rather, it was the fact that all 116 military lawmakers wore protective face masks.
A member of the ruling National League party said their most likely aim was to raise public awareness on the threat posed by the global coronavirus outbreak.
“People pay attention to the Hluttaw [Burmese term for parliament] these days. So, they might have thought the timing was right to send a message to the public about the coronavirus threat,” he told Anadolu Agency over the phone on Wednesday.
“In my opinion, it is a good idea. But I don’t know if it is just a stunt or a sincere show of concern,” said the lawmaker, who requested anonymity due to a fear of reprisal.
The move came after the military announced earlier this week that the outbreak may postpone the annual ceremony of Armed Forces Day on March 27.
Myanmar, which shares a long and porous border with neighboring China, is surprisingly not among the over 75 countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
However, the country’s health authorities have warned of a potential outbreak and urged people to avoid mass gatherings.
In its daily press release on Wednesday, the health ministry said there were no coronavirus cases in the country but said an outbreak was still possible..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"YANGON-Myanmar Embassy in Beijing, China, announced that two Myanmar criminals in Hubei Province, China, were infected with COVID-19.
They were charged with drug dealing and trafficking cases in Hubei, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Two Myanmar COVID-19 patients were sent to Mobile Cabin Hospital on February 27th and 28th and they are being received medical treatments.
Although the two inmates are in stable condition, they weren’t allowed to discharge from the hospital. The Prison Department (branch) in Hubei Province is carrying out Psychological Crisis Intervention and Persuasion since the beginning of two Myanmar inmates were infected with COVID-19.
The announcement also reported that 67 Myanmar sailors were being detained for smuggling at the 18 prisons across China.
At present, Hubei Province has been in lockdown since last month, and the people are not allowed to go from one street to another..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"A total of 154 Myanmar citizens have so far returned from China with the help of the Myanmar embassy in Beijing following the spread of the coronavirus, the embassy reported.
Some Myanmar citizens working in China made contact with the embassy saying that they wanted to return home in fear of COVID-19.
The embassy sent 64 Myanmar citizens in the first batch to Chinshwehaw border gate on the Myanmar-China border on March 1.
The group included 12 pregnant women and their husbands and those with poor health.
Again, 59 people were sent in the second batch on March 2. Among them were 15 Chin nationals. The third batch was also sent on the same day. They were sent in accompany with two Chinese doctors and 14 police officers.
The returnees will be handed over to Myanmar authorities after medical checkups, citizenship scrutiny, and other checks..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
A fifth person suspected of having COVID-19 in Myanmar has tested negative for the illness, the Health Ministry said.
Description:
"The Myanmar government said it has found no cases of the disease within its borders, more than two months after COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, China.
The 26-year-old Myanmar man and his wife tested negative for the disease, after he had been in close contact with a Myanmar woman who became infected with COVID-19 while working as a maid in Singapore, the ministry said.
The man and his wife have been quarantined at a hospital in Kyaukpadaung township of Mandalay Region since February 26, as part of the government’s response to the threat.
On Tuesday, the ministry said four people suspected of having the disease, including a 38-year-old Chinese man and a 37-year-old New Zealand man, tested negative for the virus. The test results were provided by the National Health Laboratory, which recently acquired hundreds of testing kits for the virus.
COVID-19 has killed over 3000 people and infected more than 90,000 globally..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The government will continue sending workers abroad, even to South Korea, which is now the centre of the COVID-19 epidemic in more than 70 countries, a senior labour official said.
Description:
"Daw Thin Thin Lwin, assistant director of the Overseas Job Agency under the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, said that the government had sent 23,586 workers to Thailand, 4408 to Malaysia, 69 to Singapore, 267 to Korea, 761 to Japan, 58 to UAE, 67 to Jordan and 11 to Qatar in January.
"We will not stop sending workers abroad, even to South Korea,” she said.
Thousands of Myanmar nationals continue to seek work abroad due to Myanmar’s slumping economy and lack of jobs.
From 2011 through February, over 40,000 Myanmar workers went to South Korea, she said. On Monday, the Health Ministry announced that Singapore had notified it that a 25-year-old Myanmar woman working as a maid in the city-state had tested positive for COVID-19, the first such case involving a Myanmar citizen.
As of Wednesday, the Myanmar government said, the country had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, which has killed over 3000 people since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, on December 31..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Labour issues in Burma
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
India is increasing competing with China in its neighbourhood, so helping out in a crisis is a good way to make friends.
Description:
"The Indian Air Force last week evacuated 112 people stranded in Wuhan, one of several operations by India to the the Chinese city at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. But while India is one of many countries to help its citizens in need, what was also striking about this particular mission was that 36 people in this group were foreign nationals, primarily from Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Maldives.
The evacuation was somewhat overshadowed by the intense media coverage of US President Donald Trump’s recent visit to India, as well as attention on the outbreak of communal violence in the country. But while India’s evacuations of not just its own citizens but also those belonging to neighbouring countries was mainly a humanitarian mission, it did have significant political ramifications reflecting India’s regional diplomacy..."
Source/publisher:
"The Interpreter"
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The Ministry of Health and Sports released a notification to the public on February 23, warning that people should avoid crowded places as incidents of the novel coronavirus(COVID-19) could occur in Myanmar.
Description:
"Health experts are advising people to avoid going to festivals and places were people gather, such as busy shopping centers and markets.
“We should not hold festivals in Myanmar at the moment,” said Dr Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director of Contagious Disease Prevention and Eradication at the Department of Public Health.
“It would be better if they are not held at all,” she added. “I want to urge people to take protective measures, and that means avoiding unnecessary exposure to the virus in public gatherings,” said Dr Khin Maung Lwin, director (retired) of the Ministry of Health and Sports.
In a statement issued by the ministry, the government warned that “even those who have not come into contact with infected people, or those who have not travelled to high-risk countries, are at risk of contracting COVID-19”. Close contact with others in crowded places increases the risk of infection.
“The most important thing is contact. If there are infected people near you, you can get infected,” said Dr Aung Tun, advisor to the Ministry of Health and Sports..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar stopped a cruise boat carrying hundreds of tourists from docking in the country, a senior tourism official said on Tuesday, citing fears passengers could be carrying the coronavirus.
The Silver Spirit, a luxury liner operated by Monaco-based Silversea Cruises, last docked at the Thai island of Phuket and was scheduled to stop at Thilawa, outside Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon on Wednesday.
“We have informed the ... port authorities that the entry of this ship should not be allowed,” Khin Maung Soe, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, told Reuters by phone.
He said he did not know whether any of the passengers were showing symptoms of the virus. Myanmar stopped a cruise boat carrying hundreds of tourists from docking in the country, a senior tourism official said on Tuesday, citing fears passengers could be carrying the coronavirus.
The Silver Spirit, a luxury liner operated by Monaco-based Silversea Cruises, last docked at the Thai island of Phuket and was scheduled to stop at Thilawa, outside Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon on Wednesday.
“We have informed the ... port authorities that the entry of this ship should not be allowed,” Khin Maung Soe, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, told Reuters by phone.
He said he did not know whether any of the passengers were showing symptoms of the virus..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Singapore has sent medical supplies to Myanmar that will allow doctors to detect and contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Wednesday (March 4) that the Government has contributed 3,000 diagnostic tests and two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines to test for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
MFA said the contribution was in response to a request from the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports. The supplies were handed over from the Singapore's Ambassador to Myanmar, Ms Vanessa Chan, to Myanmar National Health Laboratory deputy director-general Htay Htay Tin at Yangon International Airport.
Singapore had previously sent medical supplies to China on Feb 19 and Feb 8.
For the Feb 19 dispatch, Singapore's Ambassador to China, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, handed over the country's humanitarian assistance to People's Liberation Army General Hospital Medical Service Department deputy head Zhang Fu in Beijing.
The assistance was to help communities severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China and aid efforts to contain the virus, MFA said on Feb 20..."
Source/publisher:
"The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Doctors focus on preventing disease progressing to critical stage as work continues to develop effective drugs, vaccine
Description:
" As the coronavirus spreads to every continent except Antarctica and the death toll climbs above 3,000, scientists and doctors around the world are rushing to find a way to cure the disease, COVID-19, before it infects more people and poses an even bigger challenge to global health.
The progress made by the Chinese health workers in treating the disease offers hope: more than half the patients in China where the outbreak first originated late last year have reportedly been discharged, reducing the remaining number of confirmed cases to less than 35,000. More:
Coronavirus: All you need to know about the symptoms and risks
How does coronavirus spread and how can you protect yourself?
Coronavirus: Which countries have confirmed new cases?
China has been touting the recovery rate and offering to provide medical help to other countries in need. Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his counterparts in the hard-hit countries of Italy and Iran at the weekend to offer assistance.
Most of those who have recovered only suffered mild symptoms of the disease, but the mortality rate among the elderly and those whose infection progresses to the critical stage remains high.
That remains a significant challenge for medical workers treating COVID-19 patients, according to a doctor working at one of the leading hospitals in Wuhan who requested anonymity because the hospital management had banned its medics from talking to the media..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Decision was made as proactive measure before cruise ship arrived in commercial capital Yangon as planned
Description:
"Myanmar has refused the entry of a tourist cruise ship in the country’s commercial capital out of fear of the coronavirus epidemic, which has a large presence in Southeast Asia.
Myanmar, which to date has no confirmed case of coronavirus, was a scheduled four-day stopover for The Silver Spirit, operated by Bahamas-based Silver Sea Cruises, in Yangon, but the government on Monday reversed the permission to dock.
Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director at the Health and Sports Ministry, said the decision was made at an emergency meeting held in the capital Nay Pyi Taw late Sunday.
“The main reason is that the cruise ship stopped in several countries with confirmed coronavirus cases,” she told Anadolu Agency by phone on Monday.
The ship, carrying 485 tourists from 22 countries and over 350 crew members, last stopped at the Thai resort island of Phuket.
Myanmar has examined 45 suspected cases, but none has tested positive for the virus, the ministry said on Sunday..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Telling people that you are a “zero” may not get much attention. Telling people that you are a “patient zero”? That’s a different story.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who also goes by the nickname Woz, momentarily caused a stir with the following tweet: Yeah, that’s not going to get zero reaction with the ongoing COVID-19 causing coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) outbreak occurring. The possible suggestion that he and his wife, Janet, may have been the “patient zeros” who brought the new coronavirus to the U.S. got all kinds of responses, ranging from people tweeting that Macs don’t get viruses to those wondering angrily why the Wozniaks took so long to see doctors.A patient zero is the first human to get infected by a pathogen like a virus and then subsequently spread it to others. There can be a patient zero for the overall SARS-CoV2 outbreak, that is the first human to have contracted the virus from a non-human source such as another animal. There can also be patient zeros for outbreaks in different locations, such as the persons who first introduced the virus to each country. It can be very, very difficult to identify who really was the patient zero in each of these cases because that person may have had very non-specific symptoms or even no symptoms at all..."
Source/publisher:
"Forbes" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Sub-title:
The Singapore Health Ministry said a Myanmar maid is suffering from the new coronavirus or COVID-19 infection, according to a Myanmar Health Ministry official, the first Myanmar citizen reported to be suffering from the deadly disease.
Description:
"U Aung Tun, an adviser to the Health Ministry, said the 25-year-old Myanmar woman is one of the 106 people suffering from the affliction that has killed over 3000 people in nearly 60 countries. More than 89,000 people are suffering from the illness first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31.
Earlier on February 1, Myanmar evacuated 59 students from Wuhan, and all of them were declared free of COVID-19 after a 14-day quarantine in a hospital in Mandalay.
Last week, two more Myanmar students in Wuhan were among the 112 people evacuated from the virus-plagued city, by an Indian Air Force plane. They are now undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine in New Delhi.
The International Labour Organization said as much as 10 percent of the country’s labour force is working abroad, with over 3 million Myanmar migrant workers employed in Thailand and Malaysia alone..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-03
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"၂၀၁၉ ဒီဇင်ဘာကတည်းက တရုတ်နိုင်ငံကနေ စဖြစ်နေတဲ့ ကိုရိုနာဗိုင်းရပ်စ်ကူးစက်မှုဟာ သုံးလကြာအပြီးမှာလည်း အရှိန်လျော့သွားတဲ့လက္ခဏာမပြဘဲ ဆက်ပြီးကူးစက်ပျံ့နှံ့နေသေးတယ်။ အခုဆိုရင် ကမ္ဘာ့နိုင်ငံပေါင်း ၅၅နိုင်ငံမှာ ကိုရိုနာဗိုင်းရပ်စ် (COVID-19) ရောက်ရှိနေတယ်။ လူပေါင်း ရှစ်သောင်းကျော်ကူးစက်ခံထားရပြီး သေဆုံးသူ ၃၀၀၀ ကျော်ရှိနေပါပြီ။ ကမ္ဘာ့ကျန်းမာရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းကလည်း ဒီကူးစက်ပျံ့နှံ့မှုကို ကမ္ဘာတစ်ခုလုံးမှာ အမြင့်ဆုံးခြိမ်းခြောက်မှုအဖြစ် ပြောင်းလဲသတ်မှတ်ထားပါတယ်။
ဒီရောဂါဟာ ဘာလို့ကြောက်ဖို့ကောင်းနေတာလဲ။ ကိုရိုနာဗိုင်းရပ်စ်ပိုး ကူးစက်ခံရရင် ခန္ဓာကိုယ်မှာဘာတွေပြောင်းလဲဖြစ်ပေါ်လာမှာလဲ၊ ဘာတွေခံစားရမလဲဆိုတာကို ဒီဆောင်းပါးမှာ ပြောပြထားပါတယ်။
အဆုတ်
အသက်ရှူလမ်းကြောင်းကနေ ကူးစက်တဲ့ရောဂါဆိုတော့ ပထမဆုံးထိခိုက်မယ့်အစိတ်အပိုင်းက အဆုတ်ပါ။ ရောဂါပိုးရှိတဲ့သူတစ်ယောက်က ချောင်းဆိုးနှာချေလိုက်တာကနေ ဗိုင်းရပ်စ်တွေက သူ့ရဲ့ နှာရည်၊ တံတွေးတို့မှာပါသွားပြီး တခြားတစ်ယောက်ကို ကူးစက်နိုင်တယ်။ ပထမဆုံးစပြီး ဖြစ်မယ့် လက္ခဏာတွေကတော့ ရိုးရိုးတုပ်ကွေးမိတဲ့လက္ခဏာတွေဖြစ်တဲ့ ဖျားတာ၊ ချောင်းဆိုးတာ၊ အသက်ရှူရခက်တာနဲ့ အဆုတ်ရောင်တာတွေဖြစ်နိုင်တယ်။ စကူးစက်ပြီး ၂ရက်ကနေ ၁၄ရက်အတွင်းဖြစ်နိုင်တယ် (ဒါပေမယ့် မသေချာသေးဘူး။ တချို့အခြေအနေတွေမှာ တော်တော်ကြာမှဖြစ်တာမျိုးတွေလည်းတွေ့နေရတယ်)။ အသက်ကြီးတဲ့သူတွေနဲ့ နဂိုရောဂါအခံရှိတဲ့သူတွေက ရောဂါရဲ့ဒဏ်ကို ပိုခံစားရတယ်။ ပိုပြင်းထန်တတ်တယ်။
ကိုရိုနာဗိုင်းရပ်စ်ရဲ့ အဆုတ်ကိုထိခိုက်တဲ့ပုံစံဟာ သူ့ညီနောင်ရောဂါတွေဖြစ်တဲ့ SARS နဲ့ MERS ရောဂါတွေနဲ့ဆင်တူတယ်လို့ဆိုပါတယ်။ ဒီအတိုင်းဆိုရင် အဆုတ်ကို ထိခိုက်တဲ့ပုံစံက အဆင့် (၃)ဆင့်ရှိတယ်။ ပထမဆုံးဗိုင်းရပ်စ်တွေပွားမယ်။ ပွားလာတဲ့ဗိုင်းရပ်စ်တွေက ဘာမှန်းမသိတဲ့အခါ ခန္ဓာကိုယ်ရဲ့ ကိုယ်ခံအားစနစ် ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန်တုံ့ပြန််မှုတွေဆက်ဖြစ်တယ်။ ကိုယ်ခံအားစနစ်တုံ့ပြန်မှုကြောင့် ရောင်ရမ်းမှုတွေဆက်ဖြစ်ပြီးရင်တော့ အဆုတ်မှာထိခိုက်ပြီး အဆုတ်ပျက်စီးမယ်။
ဗိုင်းရပ်စ်ကိုတိုက်ခိုက်ဖို့အတွက် ပြင်းပြင်ထန်ထန်တုံ့ပြန်တဲ့ ကိုယ်ခံအားစနစ်က ရောင်းရမ်းမှုတွေဖြစ်ပေါ်စေတာကြောင့် အဆုတ်မှာရှိတဲ့ သွေးကြောတွေကိုထိခိုက်စေပြီး သွေးကြောငယ်တွေကနေ အရည်တွေစိမ့်ထွက်စေတယ်။ အဲဒီအရည်တွေက အဆုတ်ရဲ့ လေလဲလှယ်တဲ့လေပူပေါင်းငယ်လေးတွေ (alveoli) တွေမှာစုကုန်တဲ့အတွက်ကြောင့် အဆုတ်က သူ့အလုပ်ဖြစ်တဲ့ အောက်ဆီဂျင်ကိုရယူဖို့အတွက် ခက်ခဲလာတာကြောင့်အသက်ရှူရခက်လာမယ်။ နောက်ပိုင်းမှာ လုံးဝကို လေလဲလှယ်မှုမလုပ်နိုင်တော့တဲ့အခြေအနေဖြစ်ပြီး သေဆုံးနိုင်တယ်။ တကယ်လို့ မသေဆုံးဘူးဆိုရင်တောင်မှ အဆုတ်မှာ အမာရွတ်တွေကျန်သွားမယ်။.."
Source/publisher:
"DVB" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Sub-title:
What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and at what point should you call a doctor?
Description:
"What is Covid-19 – the illness that started in Wuhan?
It is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city.
What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes?
The virus can cause pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Many of those who have died were already in poor health.
Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough?
In the UK, the medical advice is that if you have recently travelled from areas affected by coronavirus, you should:
stay indoors and avoid contact with other people as you would with the flu
call NHS 111 to inform them of your recent travel to the area
More NHS advice on what to do if you think you have been exposed to the virus can be found here, and the full travel advice to UK nationals is available here..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
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COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Sub-title:
This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and CDC will provide updated information as it becomes available, in addition to updated guidance.
Description:
"CDC is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in China and which has now been detected in 60 locations internationally, including in the United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).
On January 30, 2020, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concernexternal icon” (PHEIC). On January 31, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency (PHE) for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19. Source and Spread of the Virus
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and now with this new virus (named SARS-CoV-2).
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three of these viruses have their origins in bats. The sequences from U.S. patients are similar to the one that China initially posted, suggesting a likely single, recent emergence of this virus from an animal reservoir..."
Source/publisher:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
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Type:
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COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Researchers currently think that between five and 40 coronavirus cases in 1,000 will result in death, with a best guess of nine in 1,000 or about 1%.
Description:
"Scientists combine individual pieces of evidence about each of these questions to build a picture of the death rate.
For example, they estimate the proportion of cases with mild symptoms from small, defined groups of people who are monitored very tightly, like people on repatriated flights.
But slightly different answers from those pieces of evidence will add up to big changes in the overall picture.
If you just use data from Hubei, where the death rate has been much higher than elsewhere in China, then the overall death rate will look much worse.
So scientists give a range as well as a best current estimate.
But even that doesn't tell the full story because there is no single death rate..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases
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Summary:
"From January 31 to February 29, health authorities have tested 43 people that showed symptoms of the disease, but all the results tested negative.
The ministry said one 27-year-old male...
Sub-title:
UPDATE 1: The Health Ministry assured Saturday that Myanmar remains free of the new coronavirus or COVID-19 as three foreigners tested negative for the deadly disease that has already killed over 2900 people around the world.
Description:
"From January 31 to February 29, health authorities have tested 43 people that showed symptoms of the disease, but all the results tested negative.
The ministry said one 27-year-old male British citizen, one 32-year-old male American and one 25-year-old female Chinese citizen, were being treated at Waibagi Hospital in Yangon after showing symptoms of the disease. All three underwent testing for the virus, but the results were negative, according to the National Health Laboratory (NHL) in Yangon. Health authorities quarantined on Friday seven female university students who arrived at Yangon International Airport from Daegu city in South Korea, where there is a reported outbreak of COVID-19.
Quarantined at Waibagi Hospital, officials said the students are in good health.
The ministry said all the 22 people who had contact with the South Korean tourist, diagnosed with the illness upon arrival in Seoul last week, after visiting Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, are in good health and have not shown symptoms of the disease..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Description:
"In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, UNICEF’s focus has been on childfriendly risk communication messages in a number of ethnic languages to promote good hygiene and hand-washing behaviors to reduce transmission and spread. UNICEF is also issuing a U-Report “chatbot” to provide basic information and advice reaching over 33,000 young people countrywide.
• UNICEF and the Mine Risk Working Group (MRWG) recorded 36 casualties in January of whom 15 were children, and of five deaths, four were children.
• During the visit of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, she acknowledged the progress made by the Government with regards to the 2012 Joint Action Plan on the recruitment and use of children and urged continued engagement and a new joint action plan to better protect children and end killing, maiming and sexual violence..."
Source/publisher:
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (New York) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
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"The United States has delayed a regional ASEAN summit scheduled to take place in Las Vegas next month due to fears of the coronavirus, a senior administration official said Friday (Feb 28).
"As the international community works together to defeat the novel coronavirus, the United States, in consultation with ASEAN partners, has made the difficult decision to postpone the ASEAN leaders meeting," said the official on condition of not being named..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, ASEAN-Burma relations
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Sub-title:
The outbreak may be the push needed to help prevent zoonotic diseases.
Description:
"Ebola. Anthrax. Bubonic plague. HIV. SARS. Coronavirus. You may not be familiar with the term “zoonotic,” but these nightmarish examples fall into that category. Zoonotic diseases are the kinds that can jump the species barrier, and can be particularly dangerous to humans because our immune systems don’t yet know how to fight them.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, for example, probably originates from wild bats, but it’s not yet clear which creature was the intermediary between them and humans. Confiscated samples of pangolin, a critically endangered mammal hunted for use in traditional Chinese medicine, have tested positive for similar strains. Whether or not the intermediary turns out to be a rare, exotic species or a more mundane one such as pigs, one thing is clear: The greater the variety of animals in the same small space, the more pathways there are for diseases to spread and mutate.
This is alarming because the risk of zoonotic disease is rising exponentially. Three-quarters of new diseases in humans are transmitted from animals. The past century has seen ever-expanding human encroachment into natural habitats, exposing people and livestock to more varieties of wild animal than ever before—and with this contact, any bacteria and viruses they carry.
“The more we hunt wildlife, the more we come in contact with new environments and the more we increase the likelihood of us being exposed to these viruses,” explained Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization’s International Food Safety Authorities Network. “It’s clear that poaching and hunting endangered species has to stop. It’s totally unacceptable. I think everybody in all authorities of the world are in agreement with that.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Foreign Policy" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Illegal Economy - general, Fauna of Burma/Myanmar, Fauna of Burma's forests
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Description:
"As coronavirus cases continue to soar globally, in at least one region a steady façade of optimism persists. Southeast Asia’s foreign ministers have joined hands with China and declared their intention to “stay strong!”
Yet their hastily called meeting in secretive, socialist Laos last week suggests not so much resiliency as the need to shore up mutual support. Health experts are widely skeptical of the numbers reported by China’s neighbors, and believe the deadly infection is spreading undetected throughout much of Southeast Asia.
With infection clusters increasingly sprouting outside the mainland, where the virus originated, many fear these pockets—rooted out or not—are sustaining the outbreak and pushing the world toward a global pandemic.
The disease, officially COVID-19, has sickened over 83,000 and killed more than 2,850, primarily in China. But cases have spread to more than four dozen countries, and been identified as far away as Brazil and Finland.
Strangely absent from the list are Myanmar and Laos, which border China, as well as Brunei, East Timor, and Indonesia—of which the latter had daily, direct flights to the virus epicenter, Wuhan. Every other country in the region, all beneficiaries of Chinese aid, investment and tourism, has reported cases..."
Source/publisher:
"Time"
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Sub-title:
The pair were unable to return with a previous batch because one was ill and the other was travelling
Description:
"The Indian Air Force has evacuated two Myanmar students from the Chinese city of Wuhan after they were declared free of coronavirus.
The pair were unable to join 61 students who flew back to Myanmar early this month because one was ill and another was travelling outside of Wuhan, a Myanmar embassy official in Beijing told Myanmar Now, requesting anonymity.
They joined dozens of mostly Indian nationals on the Air Force flight to New Delhi, which departed around 2am on Thursday morning local time.
“They will be quarantined for 14 days and will be brought to Myanmar,” the official said.
Myanmar was making plans to bring them home when India contacted several embassies with an offer to allow some foreign nationals on the return flight of a plane carrying medical supplies to the city.
The two evacuees had been doing further studies under a Myanmar foreign ministry programme in Wuhan when the city became the epicenter of a global panic around the new flu-like virus that emerged there in late December.
India’s Globemaster plane was carrying 76 Indians, 23 Bangladeshis, and nationals from the Maldives, the US, China, and South Korea, on the flight out of the city, Indian ambassador to China Vikram Misri wrote on Twitter..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Description:
"Even as China pushes factories to reopen, the ripple effects of Covid-19 have already proved inescapable for manufacturers outside the country. Particularly hard hit is Southeast Asia, where industries that depend on China for raw materials are being hobbled as their supplies dry up.
In Cambodia, the government today warned about 200 factories making mostly clothing will probably have to slow or cease production entirely due to a lack of raw materials. China—the world’s biggest textile exporter—provides more than 60% of the materials feeding Cambodia’s garment and textile factories, according to the country’s association of garment manufacturers. Prime Minister Hun Sen has publicly urged the Chinese ambassador to send more materials by ship and plane so the industry won’t have to shut down.Vietnam is facing similar situations in its garment industry and beyond, with China being a major supplier of steel and components for electronics. “Car, electronics and phone manufacturers are experiencing difficulty in acquiring supplies and materials due to disruptions from the virus,” an agency representing Vietnam’s manufacturing sector told Reuters. Phone maker Samsung, which manufactures in Vietnam, is among the companies facing a serious production slowdown. Even the furniture industry, which gets component parts from China, is under duress..."
Source/publisher:
Quartz
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Description:
"WHO - Press Conference: Update on the situation regarding Coronavirus Disease (COVID - 19) (Geneva, 25 February 2020)..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Description:
"More than 1,000 Burmese workers in China have contacted the Myanmar embassy for help returning home, an official at the Myanmar embassy in Beijing told Myanmar Now.
Factory closures in response to the coronavirus outbreak have left large numbers of Myanmar migrants out of work, with some sleeping rough besides highways and in bushes, according to one charity.
The Moe Ma Kha Foundation, which is helping the stranded Myanmar migrants, has urged the embassy to prioritise over 200 factory workers who are sleeping rough in forests in Shandong and Guangdong provinces.
They include pregnant women and children, and the workers there are running low on food because they have so little money, the foundation said.
But the embassy said no one would be prioritised, and that the order of returns would be based on addresses and other credentials..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
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"Passenger arrivals at Myanmar’s three international airports have tumbled 36% so far in February from the prior month because of the travel curbs sparked by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
There’s been a particularly pronounced drop in the number of Chinese visitors, to 2,000 a week from a usual average of about 30,000, said Ne Win, director of air transport at the Department of Civil Aviation.
“The virus has negatively affected all airlines, routes and destinations,” Ne Win said in an interview Tuesday in Yangon. Before the virus outbreak, 17 airlines flew 30 routes from Myanmar to mainland China and Hong Kong, he said, adding that’s fallen to eight airlines and seven routes.
“The impact of the virus could last as long as a year,” Ne Win said..."
Source/publisher:
"Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has delivered COVID-19 testing kits to Myanmar’s National Health Laboratory (NHL) to help with the rapid detection of the virus, the Japanese aid agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
Description:
"The kits, which contain primer and testing reagents, worth ¥400,000 (K5.21 million/US$3600) will boost the country’s ability to prevent entry of the deadly disease. JICA officials said they handed over the first batch of the kits in response to an urgent request from the NHL. The aid agency said Japan will do its best to help Myanmar in the fight against COVID-19.
“Myanmar has had relatively higher rates of infection from major infectious diseases compared to other ASEAN counties, which requires it to strengthen its capacity to respond to and diagnose such diseases,” the statement said.
“Since 2005, through Japan’s development assistance, JICA has provided technical cooperation to enhance the country’s capacity to handle major infectious disease.”
The NHL has been designated by the Ministry of Health and Sports as the lead institution to perform diagnosis of suspected COVID-19 cases.
The laboratory performed parallel testing for COVID-19 with the World Health Organization’s designated laboratory, with consistent results.
The NHL began independent testing for COVID-19 last Thursday. As of Monday, 40 people suspected to have the disease had tested negative, and Myanmar had no confirmed cases..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Japan-Burma relations
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Myanmar has ordered home quarantine for 22 people who had contact with a South Korean woman tested positive for COVID-19 in Seoul shortly after returning from a trip to Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, the Health Ministry said.
Description:
"It said that so far the 22 people who had contact with the 34-year-old South Korean woman have not shown symptoms of the disease.
The South Korean, who is now in Seoul, visited Myanmar for five days from February 13 to 17. It was not yet determined where she contracted the disease. Prior to visiting Yangon, the South Korean woman, from Gyeongnam Region, visited Malaysia. She also went to Vietnam before returning to Seoul on Sunday, where she was diagnosed positive of the disease, according to a report of Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention sent to the Myanmar Health Ministry.
The Myanmar Health Ministry has not yet reported any case of COVID-19 infection in the country since the outbreak was first reported on December 31. Dr Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director of Contagious Disease Prevention and Eradication for the Department of Public Health, said all the 22 quarantined people are in good health.
"They have no sign of fever, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. They are all in good health condition," she told The Myanmar Times on Tuesday.The Yangon Health Department is closely monitoring the 22 people and was instructed to inform higher authorities if any of them develop fever, cough, sneezing and shortness of breath.
The 22 were told to wash hands frequently with soap and water, to cover their mouth when they cough or and sneeze with disposable tissues or clothing..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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Sub-title:
The government called on China on Tuesday to ensure the health of 63 Myanmar sailors detained in Chinese prisons for illegal trading of goods.
Description:
"The Myanmar Embassy in Beijing issued the appeal amid reports that several inmates in some prisons across China have been infected with the deadly COVID-19 disease that has killed over 2600 people on the mainland.
The government asked the Chinese government to amnesty the Myanmar prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
Chinese authorities said that more than 500 inmates in five prisons in Hubei, Xiangdong and Jiejiang districts were infected with the new coronavirus as of last Thursday.
In a letter sent to China’s Foreign Ministry, the government urged Beijing to take care of the 63 Myanmar inmates and resolve their cases as soon as possible. The Myanmar Embassy in Beijing said that so far, the 63 sailors are free of the virus and have been placed in separate cells to minimise the possibility of infection..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
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"Two townships in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state face shortages of food staples, including rice, and rising prices, after China shut down border checkpoints in an effort to contain its coronavirus outbreak, a local lawmaker said Tuesday.
More than 20,000 residents of Chipwi and Hsawlaw townships will face shortages from now until China opens the border crossings, closed until the annual monsoon season begins in late May, said Khaw Marwu, a legislator from the Lisu National Development Party who represents the Hsawlaw constituency.
The two cold, mountainous regions along with Kawnglanghpu township lie in remote areas that are difficult to access as roads are rare, he said. Residents earn their living by farming, hunting, and selling forestry products.
The Myanmar military and a number of armed groups are present in the region, including the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA); the National Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), an armed group that was converted into a Border Guard Force under Myanmar military command; and the Lisu and Rawang militias..."
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Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Food Security and displacement in Burma, China-Burma relations
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Description:
"More than 130 Myanmar citizens working at a brick making site in China’s province of Yunnan have returned home as they fear the coronavirus, according to a statement released by anti-human trafficking police on February 24.
Those Myanmar workers are 50 men and 88 women including those from Myakaing village, Kyauktan Township, Yangon Region. As the workers no longer wanted to work in China for fear of the coronavirus, they contacted the consul general’s office for help. Then, the office contacted the Yunnan Province government for further action. The authorities then sent the Myanmar workers to Chinshwehaw, a border checkpoint between Myanmar and China.
The statement said that arrangements were made to send them home after they had received medical checkups at Hopan People’s Hospital..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
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Sub-title:
A Chinese-owned bag factory in Yangon abruptly announced its shutdown on Monday due to a lack of raw materials caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in China.
Description:
"The Lucky Sky Bags factory in Mya Sein Yaung industrial zone in Hlaing Tharyar township gave no notice to its workers, some of whom were on strike, before shutting down on Monday.
U Myo Zaw Htay, one of the leaders of the strike, called for the factory’s licence to be revoked and its 20 Chinese employees deported.
"They got a seven-year tax exemption for investing in Mya Sein Yaung industrial zone,” he said, “but it operated for just 11 months.”
The factory, which has 642 workers, makes leather bags for export to Europe.
The workers went on strike from January 31 to February 11 to protest against unfair labour practices, which made it difficult for the factory to meet export deadlines and resulted in a decline in orders, according to the workers.
After reaching an agreement with the factory on February 11 the workers returned to work.
But 10 days later, the labour union's secretary was fired for no reason, so the workers protested and the factory shut down, U Myo Zaw Htay said. The factory management vowed to pay the workers compensation.
Lucky Sky Bags was the third Chinese-owned company to shut down in the past three weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak that has infected over 79,000 people globally..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
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Summary:
"The Health Ministry on Sunday warned that Myanmar remained at risk of an outbreak of the coronavirus and advised people to avoid mass gatherings. The public caution was issued as the death toll from...
Description:
"The Health Ministry on Sunday warned that Myanmar remained at risk of an outbreak of the coronavirus and advised people to avoid mass gatherings. The public caution was issued as the death toll from the virus continued to rise both in and outside China, where the epidemic originated.
The virus, officially known as COVID-19, has killed more than 2,500 people in China, with the total number of confirmed infections there reaching 77,150 as of Monday afternoon, according to Chinese health authorities. Outside China, South Korea had reported 763 confirmed cases as of Monday with seven deaths. Infections have been reported as far away as Italy, where 150 cases have been found. However, China’s neighbor Myanmar has yet to report any cases.
As of Sunday night, the country’s Health and Sports Ministry declared, no COVID-19 patients had been found in the country.
The ministry on Sunday warned people to avoid mass gatherings as much as possible, despite the absence of any local cases so far, emphasizing that with the number of infections still rising in China, a local outbreak was still possible.
“Only essential gatherings should be allowed and, if held, participants must strictly follow the precautionary guidelines issued by the ministry,” it said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
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