16 Sep
As of Tuesday evening, the official count of confirmed cases across our country reached 3,502 so far and the death toll reached at 35. Most of the deaths have chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney disorder and diabetes.
The updated daily figures are reported to the public every evening. This is not for alarm, but for a cause for caution.
We have seen a significant rise in coronavirus cases since mid-August after a surge of locally-transmitted infections, which struck Rakhine State in mid-August.
Over the past seven days, our country saw 307 cases on Tuesday, 263 cases on Monday, 337 cases on Sunday, 173 cases on Saturday, 272 cases on Friday, 262 cases on Thursday and 180 cases on Wednesday respectively.
Yangon Region is seeing rising numbers daily while the fast-spreading second wave has been contained, to a certain extent, in Rakhine State.
We know crowding affects the spread. Densely populated city, such as Yangon, can have nearly twice the rate of transmission.
With 200 to 300 new cases daily, Yangon needs more hospital facilities for giving treatment to them. To response to the situation which we have anticipated, Yangon Region authorities has turned a newly constructed housing in Dagon Seikan Township to a temporary hospital which will receive patients with moderate and no-symptoms of the disease. A building which has been used for facility quarantine in Hline University Campus would be turned into a hospital with 500 beds capacity for giving treatment to serious patients. Meanwhile, a tent hospital with 400 beds capacity is being constructed in the Thuwunna Stadium. These measures show the government’s efforts to tackle the challenges from the global pandemic.
The people on their part are to observe the health guidelines.
We can say that if the people follow COVID-19 guidelines and maintain social distancing, the number of cases will sharply reduce within two weeks.
The closer people live and work together, the more threatening the virus can be. Hence, for many workers and passengers who can’t avoid the crowded settings of their daily environment will need masks and gloves, and clear protocols for hygiene and disinfection.
Only living with healthy habits in new normal following the COVID-19 regulations will truly flatten the COVID-19 curve.
