Many Yangonites will wake up with an uneasy feeling of déjà vu—community checkpoints, limbo bars of sticky tape across shop entrances; the semi-lockdown has returned.
The government imposed stay-at-home orders for seven Yangon townships starting from 8am tomorrow (September 2), as the number of the cases in the city and beyond edges towards 1,000.
The townships under the restrictions are Thingangyun, Insein, North Okkalapa, Thaketa, Hlaing, Pazundaung and Mingaladon, the Ministry of Health and Sports announced at 8pm.
The same measures were imposed on Yangon in mid-April and remained for some townships for May and June. The latest announcement did not state when the current measures would end.
Government officials have described the recent increase in confirmed cases as Myanmar’s “second wave,” though the number is still relatively small compared to other countries. The new cluster began with Patient 375 in Rakhine capital Sittwe on August 16 and since then dozens of cases that have not been traced have emerged.
Myanmar recorded its last Covid-19 death on April 29—bringing the total to six—while the number of cases stands at 919 with 357 recoveries, according to health ministry data. Thirty-two cases were confirmed at 8pm; eight in Mawlamyine, five in Bago region, four in Rakhine state, and the rest scattered around 12 townships in Yangon.
In the 24 hours earlier, 100 cases were reported—a climb that suggests other townships and areas may be placed under semi-lockdown along with the seven Yangon townships and the whole of Rakhine State.
The health ministry’s stay-at-home orders make a broad exception for those who need to work in factories, companies, government departments and “organisations.”
Only one person per household is permitted to go shopping at a time, only two people can go to the hospital or clinic, and only “authorised” vehicles will be allowed to pass through wards, according to the announcement.
Vehicles can carry one passenger and a driver for shopping, and two passengers and a driver for hospital visits—approval for any more passengers should be sought at the local ward office, said the announcement.
The health ministry stated that people who violate the order will be subject to action under the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases Law.
The previous semi-lockdown was thought to have the biggest impact on day labourers, vendors, trishaw drivers, recyclable trash pickers—basically anyone who depends on the bustle of the streets for their living—as well as displaced people across the country.
