15 Dec 

With the rollout of new vaccines for coronavirus just a few weeks away, the end of the pandemic catastrophe is in sight.

The Union Government is also planning to make the vaccines available for everyone in the country.

But, the importance of inoculating people and following health guidelines grew even more apparent today as the daily infection rate of coronavirus has not yet gone down.

Besides, even after vaccines start to be distributed, there won’t be enough for the wider public to be immunized until mid-2021.

The number of new cases reported on Monday reached over 1,350, adding the total number of cases since the outbreak to over 107,000. It signals that the virus is infecting more people at a faster rate.

Yangon has suffered the highest death tolls, positive cases and heaviest economic blows from the pandemic. At the same time, the problems are hardly confined to Yangon Region.

Yangon Region which is a metropolitan city with a dense population, higher numbers of factories than other regions and a large public transportation network, should have a different approach to control the transmission.

To control the situation, we hope that the Yangon Region Government, Ministry of Health and Sports and ministries concerned need to be quick to come up with specific plans on implementing a new strategy in the face of common challenges of easing restrictions while balancing various health, social, and economic concerns.

Besides, the new strategy would critically need cooperation from citizen volunteers to work with the government to protect public health and to augment overwhelmed public services. This is because, WHO has warned that a premature lifting of restrictions could spark a resurgence of infections and cause even more severe, longer-term damage to the economy that exists as a result of restrictions.

Yangon Region authorities are urged to have to resort to the carrot and stick approach as soon as possible with those people who have flouted mandatory rules such as wearing masks and gathering without maintaining social distancing.

Meanwhile, we must encourage the value of collaboration among local citizens, volunteers, civil society including community-based groups, and regional governments to fill gaps in public services.