Vice-Chairman of the State Administration Council Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win, in his capacity as the Chairman of the COVID-19 Control and Emergency Response Committee, addressed the coordination meeting of the committee held yesterday afternoon at the office of the Chairman of the State Administration Council.
Those present at the meeting included Union Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Senior Tatmadaw officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief. the chair of Nay Pyi Taw Council and Chief Ministers of respective regions and states attended the meeting through video conferencing.
While addressing the meeting, the Vice-Senior General said COVID-19 cases has been gradually increasing since January 2022 and more positive cases have been found from Myanmar returnees and those who arrived to work in Myanmar. He highlighted that the current Omicron variant is spreading faster than other variants and the national infection rate rose from 1.45 per cent on 3 February to 8.98 per cent on 16 February.
Despite the strict control measures, the infection rate has been steadily escalating, especially in Yangon, which has the highest percentage of infection with 20.99 per cent, due to high inflows and outflows, and the gathering of people coming in from the border gates, he said. A separate Standard Operating Procedure has been issued to control the spread of the disease in the Yangon Region, he added.
Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, quarantine centres and COVID-19 treatment centres have been set up in military hospitals and public hospitals, in addition to the arrangements made to prevent the shortage of oxygen supplies.
He said the State Government and the Ministry of Health have made necessary arrangements, rules and regulations for the prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19. He urged the people to strictly follow the COVID-19 rules and regulations issued during the COVID-19 fourth wave, adding that this led to a significant reduction of the infection rate during the third wave.
He also called on the respective region/state Chief Ministers to work together with relevant organizations to step up awareness campaigns and control activities in each ward and township in regions and states, including the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, to make the people aware of the presence of COVID-19 virus in their immediate area.
At the meeting, Secretary of the Committee Union Minister for Home Affairs Lt-Gen Soe Htut explained the status of the Omicron variant infection rate, mortality rate, the spread of the variant in neighbouring countries, COVID-19 disease prevention and control activities and health check-ups at checkpoints, the completion status of the COVID-19 immunization the completion of booster planting in Ministries, Union-level organizations, domestic oxygen production, and arrangements for the treatment of positive patients and quarantine centres.
The meeting also discussed the processes to be implemented in order to prevent, control and treat the Omicron variant in each sector, and the Vice-Senior General coordinated the meeting. — MNA
