Four Myanmar migrant workers found with COVID-19 suspect signs in Myawady

Four Myanmar migrant workers found with COVID-19 suspect signs in Myawady
(File) People have their temperatures checked amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus at the immigration post in Myawaddy near the Thai border on March 23, 2020, as thousands of people crossed from Thailand as the border crossings were due to close because of the growing pandemic. Photo: AFP

House of Representatives MP Thant Zin Aung from Myawady township constituency said that four Myanmar migrant workers returned from Thailand through the Myawady border were found with signs of the COVID-19 virus so that their nasopharyngeal swabs would be taken and sent to the National Health Laboratory in Yangon for confirmation tests.

These three people under quarantine and one suspect case totaling four people were sent to Myawady district hospital. One of them had a continuous cough and was sent to an isolation ward.

“He has high fever and continuous cough. Even after he was kept at hospital for close surveillance, his fever and cough did not improve. So he was kept in an isolation ward and the nasopharyngeal swab specimens and oropharyngeal swab specimens of all these four people have been taken and they will be sent to the National Health Laboratory,” MP Thant Zin Aung said.

Three of the people under quarantine make up a family living in No. 4 Ward of Myawady, one male aged 40, one female aged 31 and one girl aged seven.

These three people were found to have a high temperature when they came back from Thailand through Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge No. 2.  They were separated from the 60 people who came back on that day and then they were sent to Myawady district hospital for close surveillance under quarantine.

All these four people under quarantine and the suspect case had been living near Mae Sot in Thailand.

182 migrant workers came back through Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge No. 2 and two more migrant workers came back from another border post during the period of May 1 to 8 so that a total 184 migrant workers have come back from Thailand.

Most of these 184 migrant workers lived in places near Mae Sod, Tak Province and some of them came back from the Thai-Malaysia border.

Over 20,000 migrant workers were registered for coming back home through this Myawady entry port through the Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge No. 2.

Ten quarantine centres which can accommodate over 20,000 Myanmar migrant workers have been arranged in Maywady Township. These migrant workers were sent back to their homes in their respective States and Regions by bus and some of them who are not adequate to fill a bus were sent to these quarantine centres for a temporary stay.

“Some States-Regions governments are waiting at border to take back these migrant workers from their States and Regions. If the number of people is not adequate to fill the full capacity of the bus, we arrange them another bus which will reach their places. And if there is no alternate bus which will reach their places, we sent them to these quarantine centres. And then we arrange them another bus next day if it is available. They must stay at facility quarantine centres arranged by their States/Regions governments for 21 days when they reached their homes. We cannot put them in our quarantine centres on the border as migrant workers are coming back in large number daily,” MP Thant Zin Aung said.