The Covid-19 pandemic is striking Myanmarese people within the country as well as spreading among the migrant communities in Thailand.
On Friday, the military government imposed restrictions on the movement of people in as many as 20 towns. Conditions have worsened in Myanmar after the coup. With medical practitioners and health workers protesting against the coup, Covid-19 has shown a rise in the South East Asian nation. Many health workers have been detained while others staged demonstrations. Also, there have have been attacks on health workers, as reported by the UN.
Separately, The Irrawaddy reports that the deadly infection is spreading among the migrant workers and fishing community in Thailand. Quoting migrant workers’ groups based in Thailand, it reported on the dismal health conditions of the migrant workers. The Irrawaddy website said that over 600 migrant workers were infected with Covid-19 in Mae Sot in Thailand’s Tak Province and another 250 fishermen in southern Thailand also tested positive.
The infection has spread among the workers of a garment factory in Thailand, forcing the Thai authorities to order a total lockdown in the village. With few health facilities, the people are either managing themselves or seeking the help of NGOs.
“As the area was placed under lockdown, even the people who tested negative can’t go out or leave. They are having difficulties buying food. So labor rights and humanitarian organizations run by Myanmar nationals are helping them,” said U Moe Kyaw of Yaung Chi Oo. The Irrawaddy quoted a Mae Sot-based labor rights organisation as saying that as the Myanmarese migrants are facing difficulties buying food, volunteers and NGOs are providing them with food and medicines.
Due to the worsening coronavirus conditions, ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi had advised people to be careful. Last week, she expressed her worries about the burgeoning cases of the virus to her lawyers. Earlier in March also she had asked people to take the usual precautions against the virus–wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and washing their hands.
On Thursday, the Myanmarese Health and Sports Ministry says that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Myanmar had risen to 159,347 after 2,070 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours.
