Ein Soe Hpyu

Narinjara News 21 May 2020

Two returnees from Malaysia have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Rakhine state, according to a statement made by theMinistry of Health and Sports (MOHS).

The first person identified as patient 188, tested positivein Thandwe Town on May 18. The second, patient 190, was identified on May 19in Taungup,according to the statement.

Both had returned from Malaysia by plane along with patient182, who is from Chin state’s Htantlang Township. Amongst those who returned onthat same flight include 97 people from Rakhine. The remaining 95 people havebeen ordered to enter quarantine for monitoring, the Department of Health forRakhine state announced today.

Rakhine state government spokesperson U Win Myint confirmedthat 97 people had returned from Malaysia with patient 182, and that thesepeople are in Rakhine.

“There were no travel restrictions in place when theyreturned from Malaysia. The 97 people were taken by two vehicles to return toRakhine, as arranged by the government.  One vehicle was heading tothe south of the state, the other to the north.  Each vehicle carriedover 40 people.  We are aware of these people’s addresses and we arecarrying out the necessary checks as quickly as possible” he said.

BothPatient 188 from Thandwe and patient 190 from Taungup are being monitored intheir respective hospitals, according to the MOHS statement.

In townships in Rakhine state where internet services areblocked, people  are unable to access the relevant and necessaryinformation about the Corona virus (COVID-19), and is now increasingly a causefor concern.

There are currently 191 confirmed cases of Corona in Myanmar,with six deaths and 101 recoveries, according to the MOHS statement.