Myanmar locks down capital as leader warns of disaster for the country amid new virus outbreak
Myanmar has shut down its capital Naypyitaw and only allows person to exit and enter in exceptional cases, according to a Reuters report. For them, the local government has imposed mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests after the country reported a recent surge in infections and leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned of a “disaster.”
Myanmar reported its first local transmission in a month in mid-August in the restive western Rakhine state. Since then, the number of cases as of September 4 has roughly doubled to 1,113 infections and seven deaths.
The majority of the cases and deaths have been in Rakhine, where government troops are fighting ethnic insurgents. Most recent infections have been in that state’s capital, Sittwe, where officials have imposed a stay-at-home order and a curfew.
Infections also rise in Yangon
But infections have been found across the country including in the biggest city and business hub, Yangon. Authorities imposed a partial lockdown in parts of Yangon on September 1, ordering residents of the worst-hit townships to stay at home other than for essential journeys. Bars and nightclubs have been closed.
Suu Kyi said those who disobeyed instructions would face punishment under the Natural Disaster Law, which carries prison terms of up to a year.
“More strict action will be taken under the Natural Disaster Law. This is a disaster for the country,” she said in a video broadcast, adding that “if the pandemic spreads widely in Yangon, it will be very difficult to provide medical treatment to the people.”
Doctors say they fear a major outbreak in the country, which has a health system ranked among the world’s worst after decades of neglect under military rule. Many services are run by aid groups and volunteers who are not prepared to treat large numbers of patients and are also not equipped with sufficient ICU units.
The government complex in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw © Arno Maierbrugger Myanmar has shut down its capital Naypyitaw and only allows person to exit and enter in exceptional cases, according to a Reuters report. For them, the local government has imposed mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests after the country reported a recent surge in infections and leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned of a “disaster.” Myanmar reported its first local transmission in a month in mid-August in the restive western Rakhine state. Since then, the number of cases as of September 4 has roughly doubled to 1,113 infections and seven deaths....
Myanmar has shut down its capital Naypyitaw and only allows person to exit and enter in exceptional cases, according to a Reuters report. For them, the local government has imposed mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests after the country reported a recent surge in infections and leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned of a “disaster.”
Myanmar reported its first local transmission in a month in mid-August in the restive western Rakhine state. Since then, the number of cases as of September 4 has roughly doubled to 1,113 infections and seven deaths.
The majority of the cases and deaths have been in Rakhine, where government troops are fighting ethnic insurgents. Most recent infections have been in that state’s capital, Sittwe, where officials have imposed a stay-at-home order and a curfew.
Infections also rise in Yangon
But infections have been found across the country including in the biggest city and business hub, Yangon. Authorities imposed a partial lockdown in parts of Yangon on September 1, ordering residents of the worst-hit townships to stay at home other than for essential journeys. Bars and nightclubs have been closed.
Suu Kyi said those who disobeyed instructions would face punishment under the Natural Disaster Law, which carries prison terms of up to a year.
“More strict action will be taken under the Natural Disaster Law. This is a disaster for the country,” she said in a video broadcast, adding that “if the pandemic spreads widely in Yangon, it will be very difficult to provide medical treatment to the people.”
Doctors say they fear a major outbreak in the country, which has a health system ranked among the world’s worst after decades of neglect under military rule. Many services are run by aid groups and volunteers who are not prepared to treat large numbers of patients and are also not equipped with sufficient ICU units.
