August 29, 2020

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held a videoconference from the Presidential Palace in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday on COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment measures with Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, Public Health and Medical Services Officer Dr Sai Win Zaw Hlaing and Volunteer Saw Thaw Moe Al who is from Insein Township and now in Sittway Township.

First of all in making some introductory remarks, Chairperson of the National-Level Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that no matter where an outbreak occurred, it concerned the whole Union; if there is a pain in any part of the country, it is a pain for the entire Union; that is the spirit in approaching COVID-related activities; there was no discrimination with regards to place; among those who returned from Thailand, the majority came back from Myawady; although this was in Kayin State, the people in Kayin State did not practise discrimination; all the people there provided cooperation as much as possible with the belief that these were their own people; she believed that this was because they all had Union spirit and that they were able to overcome this problem although they had concerns to a certain extent.

She said at this time all of us need to work with Union spirit; the problems that exist in Rakhine State were many; in 2016 the ARSA terrorist group started their armed conflicts; because of this there were so many challenges in Rakhine State; more challenges had to be confronted because ARSA initiated attacks on 4th January 2019; the people suffered greatly; innocent people were harmed because of these armed conflicts; we had to protect peace and stability to protect our people; community security is related to peace and tranquillity; health is also included in this matter; if we are to have concerns and anxieties with respect to health, we have concerns all the time because there was no security in the community; we have issued health rules and regulations and reminded repeatedly with respect to COVID-19; in the first phase, we were able to contain COVID-19 effectively because of the comprehensive programmes of the Ministry of Health and Sports and the actions of the healthcare employees and the people.

Before the disease outbreak in Rakhine State, we could say that for a period of more than one month there was no infection spread; we were able to contain the disease; we had already drawn up emergency plans with respect to Rakhine State; these plans came into action immediately when the outbreak occurred; in taking such actions the most important thing was to prevent the spread of the infection; the reason we have to tell the people in Rakhine State not to go out of their homes is not to give them punishment; if the infection spread to the whole country it would be very difficult to provide effective treatment and care to everyone; it is easier to provide effective treatment and care in one place; we can provide effective treatment with the available resources; that is why the restrictions imposed on people not to leave Rakhine State is not to discriminate against those who have been infected; the reason is to provide healthcare services and for administrative purposes.

Discussions of Rakhine State Chief Minister

Rakhine State Chief Minister U Ny Pu expressed thanks for the nationwide assistance to any circumstance of the state, and his hope for further aid.

He added that peaceful co-existence of two social communities is important for Rakhine State, especially in the outbreak of COVID-19; conflicts and difficulties will be encountered as a challenging task; there are now some worries about the pandemic in fast transmission while the number of persons at IDP camps and shelters from armed conflicts; Rakhine State has only limited fund, but the local government has formed a COVID control committee that reaches rural levels and is conducting investigations on people coming in and out of the state; the market with high risks of disease transmission in Sittway has been put under the strict control.

The Chief Minister also requested the State Counsellor for urgent management on food security as restrictions on commodity flows from neighbouring regions of Magway, Bago and Ayeyawady to the Rakhine State have been posed in addition to lockdown order in the State to control the pandemic.

Financial assistance is also required for quarantine centres and common people, although 85.5 million kyats have been acquired for the fund and an additional 1 billion kyats has been requested for the emergency fund.

The Union Government has allocated 14.8 billion kyats, the State Government 1.566 billion kyats and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement 311.4 million kyats; a total of 16.7 billion kyats is being used for medical supplies and other requirements in control measures against COVID-19.

Discussions of Volunteer Saw Thaw Moe Al

Saw Thaw Moe Al said he made a decision to volunteer for Rakhine people as they are national brethren; he has experiences in serving at four quarantine centres; some challenges in Rakhine State include the persons under quarantine do not follow the rules strictly; the arrival of protective equipment is late sometimes; the volunteer groups are now serving at the 13 quarantine centres in Sittway; 95 per cent of volunteers are working with the civil service staff at the 6 facilities, and the only 5 per cent of volunteers are working separately; more volunteers are needed for Rakhine State; cooperation of local people are needed to overcome language barriers; 3,000 kyats is allocated for each PUI per day at the centres; this amount is not enough for the member of CSOs in their long-term works; it is required to get 5,000 kyats; more drinking water is also needed at the quarantine centres.

Discussions of Public Health and Medical Services officer in Rakhine State

Dr Sai Win Zaw Hlaing also discussed his department has conducted awareness campaigns about the outbreak of COVID-19; the directives of Ministry of Health and Sports are published in real-time through videoconferences, hand speakers; pamphlets are distributed to Rakhine people and IDP camps; medical supplies are provided to the respective areas.

He also explained sending the swabs of suspected patients to Yangon by flights after the polio project car in carrying the first batch of swabs was attacked; local authorities emphasized the public announcement when the first positive case was found in Rakhine State; although active cooperation of people in social distancing in March, April and May has gradually declined.

The local health officials have adopted the Rakhine State Health Sector Contingency Plan based on the Health Sector Contingency Plan of the Ministry of Health and Sports; the plan includes the route for carrying positive patients, the designated hospitals for patients from IDP camps, emergency reaction plans and further requirements for Rakhine State; this plan also has been distributed to the ministries and partner organizations.

In responding to the discussions, the State Counsellor said approval has already been given for donations to be used in Rakhine State and not to be sent to the central authorities; with respect to the submission made regarding food supplies, she guaranteed that there would not be any shortage of food supplies; the necessary food supplies would be sent with available means of transport; she also hoped that the respected States/Regions would provide necessary assistance; financial assistance would also be provided; although Myanmar is not a wealthy country, any part of the Union which needed assistance would always be provided with assistance.

She also believed that the people would all participate and cooperate; this was such a strength; although the country is not rich, our people are rich in generous spirit; because there is a sense unity in a time of need and a cooperative spirit, it would be possible to provide sufficient financial assistance; we would provide all necessary assistance for the health of a part of our Union.

She said it was important not to lose sight of the long term goals of the Union and the goals of all the children of the Union; there were conflicts based on race and religion in Rakhine State; there were those who were fanning the flames of hatred and those who were inciting conflicts among each other instead of promoting Metta; in the present fight against COVID in Rakhine State, we need to show in what way we can show goodwill to each other; at this time it would become clear who had genuine goodwill; it was very important to have the spirit of “the Union for Rakhine and Rakhine for the Union”.

Those who make postings on the social media should have genuine goodwill and sense of duty in their postings; what is important is for the facts to be correct; some people make postings on social media without much thought or without caring whether their postings were correct or not; in posting on social media, the first thing was to be correct; then it should be considered whether the posting was beneficial for the public; she said everyone should be very careful not to make the present tasks more difficult by postings made on social media.

The State Counsellor added the government is striving for lesser impacts of COVID-19 on Rakhine people; this situation is an opportunity for making ‘unity’; we all could breathe a sigh of relief when the pandemic becomes under control in next 3 or 4 weeks; it is required to strictly follow the rules during this period, and it is expected for public cooperation; this success would be a good step for all in the long term as empathy, loving-kindness and trust could be built from cooperation in this situation; it will become a potential strength to overcome common challenges and difficulties of the Union.

She also said that quality protective equipment will be sent in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Sports in time; some persons do not know that following rules and disciplines is the best protective equipment for every one; if the rules are regarded as the protection for all, it will not be difficult to follow them; the disciplines should not be seen as restrictions of others, but just as the protection for all; imposing rules and restrictions is intended for effective control measures; disciplines must be seen as protection; the volunteers need to convey this message to the PUI at the quarantine centres; these PUIs have more contacts with the volunteers than health workers; while health workers are responsible for medical services, the volunteers should make motivations; civil service staff members were criticized for deficient practices in the past half-decade; the government is trying to change this situation to serve for the people professionally; the shortage of drinking water must be solved in the first priority; the cost for daily meals will be reviewed if the existing amount 3,000 kyats is not enough; it is expected that more Rakhine youth would join the volunteer programmes if they see other persons outside the Rakhine State are helping them regardless of social and faith grounds; the works of these volunteers could persuade the participation of local people in civil services societies.

The challenge for the Ministry of Health and Sports is the common challenge for the entire country. Some are negligent due to a slight weakness in health knowledge; if the health education is announced two or three times a day at quarantine centres through speakers, the people will get health knowledge; my concern is that some people think that if they recovered from the infection, it will be over; as far as I understand according to the world’s experts, there is no guarantee that COVID-19 will not reoccur; some do not know about that and therefore they are not serious about the disease; before the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine and treatment, it cannot be concluded that disease that won’t occur again; mindfulness is not excessive; we must be careful and I would like to remind this to the people again and again; some do not understand how the government has struggled to gain control the disease; it has been working properly for about four months until early August, especially health workers had to struggle a lot; we will find out what the public needs to know about COVID-19 disease; it is not easy to find so and we have to think about both short and long terms.

The requirements must be fulfilled as these are necessary for our people; it needs to think in advance for post-COVID-19 at the same time; it should have ability to fulfill the needs of the country in post-COVID-19 period; I do not want the country to turn into difficult situations and fail to do anything in post-COVID-19 period; so, we have to consider for both of the short-and long-term; public participation plays critical role in conducting such move; the main challenge and weakness of Rakhine State is the weakness in unity; it must be proved that the unity is strength during this period; it must be considered whether individuals or any groups damaging to the unity of people have genuine good volition for people; only the unity will help to overcome the problems and challenges that we face currently; it will fail to overcome these struggles without unity; we want them to understand that the lack of unity is not suitable for our country; the world is misunderstanding our country relating with Rakhine State; they do not see how hard we are trying and how we are working to find a solution; whether they want to see it or not, we have to show it through works.

Finally, the State Counsellor urged the people of Rakhine State and the people across the country to work together in unity to overcome the current challenges in Rakhine State.—MNA (Translated by Kyaw Myaing, Aung Khin)